Juliet Buna
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said it will be impossible for anyone without the permanent voter’s card (PVC) to vote in this year’s general election.
The INEC chairman faulted the insinuation that PVC would not be necessary for voters to cast their ballots during the forthcoming elections.
Yakubu spoke at a media briefing organised by the Abuja branch of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC) with the theme: 2023 General Election: Judiciary and Sustainability of Nigeria’s Democracy, yesterday in Abuja.
Yakubu, who was represented by a director in INEC, Dr. Lawrence Bayode, noted that with the enactment of the 2022 Electoral Act, the commission could comfortably deploy technologies for its activities.
He said the commission was worried about misinformation and disinformation in the social media on INEC’s technological deployments.
Yakubu said the problems were compounded by the attitude of some media houses that pick up news bulletins from social media platforms and discuss such on their morning shows and political programmes without reaching out to the commission for necessary clarification.
He added: “One of such is the recent viral assumptions that PVC is not required to vote on Election Day.
“Therefore, the commission is legally bound to only accept accreditation of a voter on presentation of a valid voter’s card.”
