A leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has apologised over a misleading claim he made concerning the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Tinubu had earlier said PVCs issued to Nigerians by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have expired.
The former Lagos Governor while addressing the women leaders of APC who paid him a visit in Abuja, asked voters to obtain new PVCs.
“In case they do not announce to you on time, the PVC you have has expired,” he said.
However, INEC Spokesperson Festus Okoye faulted the claims by Tinubu.
He said that although INEC had discontinued using smart reader machines during the just concluded Anambra election for its new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the PVCs issued to Nigerians by the commission were still valid.
He also said that the commission had also integrated voters’ data previously on the smart readers with the new BVAS machines.
“INEC discontinued the use of smart readers machines during the Anambra elections for BVAS,” he said.
“But the commission had succeeded in integrating the data that were previously on the smart reader machines with the BVAS so that voters can easily be recognised by their thumbs.
“Even if the BVAS refuses to recognise a voter through their thumbs, the system can also recognise through scanning the cards. Holders of PVCs can also be recognised when the voter’s serial number on the back of their cards is inputed into the machine.”
While calling on Nigerians who already have the PVCs not to register again in the ongoing continuous voters’ registration exercise, Okoye warned that it was an offence for an individual to register twice.
Tinubu’s media team issued a statement in response to the backlash that followed the misleading information, saying the APC chieftain mistakenly used the word ‘expire’ instead of stating that PVCs may have to be updated.
According to the statement “On Tuesday night in Abuja, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu granted audience to a delegation of women from Lagos and across the country attending the All Progressives Congress Women Conference. While charging the women to check the status of their voting cards and mobilise supporters to vote, he mistakenly used the word ‘expire’ instead of stating that the cards may have to be updated.
“Immediately upon being apprised of this, Asiwaju apologised for the incorrect statement and felt sorry for any confusion it may have caused. Asiwaju Tinubu also stressed that he appreciates the patriotic and necessary work of INEC and its personnel in assuring a free and fair electoral process for all Nigerians in all political parties.
“At the meeting convened at the behest of the women, Asiwaju emphasised the need for people to fully participate in elections so we strengthen our democracy. He urged them to continue to mobilise voters to update their PVCs and help thwart the prevailing voter-apathy. Women must mobilise heavily to reverse the trend, he said.
“The gap between those who registered for elections and those who usually turned up to pick their PVCs was wide, adding that such constitutes a serious challenge, which may impede the growth of our democracy.
“Asiwaju Tinubu would like to reiterate this call to women to mobilise at the grassroots levels so that elections reflect the sovereign will of all the people for a true democracy to be established. He enjoins them to review their voting details with INEC so that these details will be updated before the coming elections.”
