The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Monday alleged that some politicians have been buying up Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs.

INEC also accused these politicians of financially inducing unsuspecting voters to harvest their Voter Identification Numbers ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The acting chairman of INEC and National Commissioner overseeing the FCT, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Plateau States, Mohammed Haruna, raised the alarm in Abuja during the launch of the #YourVoteMatters project by an election observer group, NESSACTION.

The project was supported by the International Foundation for Electoral System; the United States Agency for International Development and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. It aims to assist INEC in increasing the number of PVCs collected ahead of the 2023 general elections as well as the voters mobilised on election day.

Haruna said, “We are aware that some politicians are more or less buying the PVCs. If you collect the PVC and then you sell it out or allow someone else to have it, you are aiding illegal possession of the PVC which is an offence in our Electoral Act.

“Some of you are aware that only recently, INEC managed to convict two people who were found guilty of illegal possession of PVCs in Kano and Sokoto. So, I urge people to collect their PVCs, keep them safely, and make sure that on election day, you go out there and cast your votes because, of course, without your PVC you cannot vote,” the INEC National Commissioner, added.