PVC: Viral Online Voter Registration Website Fake – INEC debunks online voter registration portal

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged Nigerians to avoid unnecessary desperation to enrol for the Permanent Voters Card (PVC), noting that a viral website still accepting registration from citizens is fake and not from the commission.

The nation’s electoral body closed the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) portal on Sunday, 31st July after the extended date had elapsed.

Over 12 million new applications were reportedly recorded in the CVR exercise.

However, hours after the closure of the portal for registration, an online website reportedly surfaced urging Nigerians to quickly enrol for their PVC in other not to miss out on participation in the 2023 general election.

INEC has, however, in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by the national commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee Mr Festus Okoye stated categorically that the viral website is fake.

The website creators whom Okoye had labelled as scammers are said to have claimed that the federal government approved individual PVC registration online to avoid the unnecessary crowd at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) centres.

“The Commission states unequivocally that the site is not linked to the commission and the link/portal is spurious and from a dubious source,” Okoye said.

He explained further that INEC was the only body constitutionally and legally mandated to conduct the registration of persons qualified to vote in any election in Nigeria and to update and revise the register when the need arose.

“The commission is solely responsible for organising, undertaking, and supervising national elections in the country and does not share this responsibility with anybody or organisation.

“Members of the public are strongly advised not to succumb to the antics of online scammers and should avoid such fake sites.

“The commission has concluded the Continuous Voter Registration nationwide and does not need to open an additional site or portal for the purposes of registration of voters,” Okoye added.