INEC Denies Selling PVCs Ahead Of Edo State Guber-Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied allegations of selling Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) by some of its officials in Edo State ahead of the September 21 Governorship election.

A civic group, Transparency for Electoral Systems Advocacy (TESA), in a petition dated August 23, 2024, alleged that uncollected PVCs were being sold to politicians in the state.

In response to TESA, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, on Monday, labelled the allegations as baseless, challenging TESA to provide concrete evidence to support its assertions.

The allegation by Transparency for Electoral Systems Advocacy (TESA) accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of selling uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to politicians in Edo State is untrue,” Oyekanmi stated.

“The Commission does not sell but issues PVCs free of charge to only registered voters,” Oyekanmi added, emphasising that the process is transparent and strictly regulated.

He further cited the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which made it nearly impossible for anyone to use another person’s PVC to vote.

“To that extent, anyone cannot use uncollected PVC to vote during the Edo State Governorship Election. Politicians know this.

“Anyone who attempts to do so will be arrested and handed over to law enforcement agents on Election Day. It is also an electoral offence for an individual to have another voter’s PVC,” he added.

INEC Chief Press Secretary, however, urged TESA and other concerned individuals to present any concrete evidence of misconduct by its officials to the Commission for immediate action.

Meanwhile, the collection of PVC in the state will begin on Thursday and continue until September 8, 2024.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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