Politicians Buying PVCs Are Ignorant, They Are Embarking On A Futile Exercise – INEC

PVCsThe Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, last night explained that the security features that come with the Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, has made it difficult, if not impossible, for those allegedly buying up the cards for the purpose of rigging the February 2015 general elections.

Mr. Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, who was reacting to allegations that politicians were buying up voters cards to use them to swing the ballot in their favour, said: “If it is true, it shows how ignorant those people are about what lies ahead”.

Mr. Idowu, who spoke with The Nation, explained the processes involved before an eligible voter is allowed to vote and how the technology to be deployed by the commission in the forthcoming polls will help reduce, if not eliminate, rigging.

“If you come to the polling booth and the card is inserted in the card reader, it will pop up the data.  That shows it is an INEC card. If the data does not show, it means the card is not from INEC.

“Also, the person who brought the card to the polling booth must be finger printed. If the fingerprint does not match the one that is embedded in the card, that card will be rejected.

“There is no way you can buy a person’s card and use unless you want to buy it to deprive the person of the privilege to vote. If you buy up a card, will you buy the fingerprint too. It is futile to buy up the card.

“The VIN number is a unique number for each card holder, but the embedded chip in the card is where the biometric is; that is where the security is. There is no way you can change the biometrics of somebody to your own, so it is ignorance about how the card works”, he explained.