All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and 2023 Presidential aspirant, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has repeated a patently false claim that Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have expiry dates.
Recall that in January, Tinubu had told some of his supporters in Abuja that: “The PVC you have has expired.
“Take one family member, two family members, knock on all doors and make sure that the new registration… Because they may not announce to you on time. The PVCs you have has expired. Yes!”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) immediately chided Tinubu for those remarks and stopped short of calling the politician irresponsible for misleading the public.
In an exclusive chat with Quest Times at the time, the Media Adviser/Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, had clarified that; “The Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not expire.
“All previously registered voters with PVCs can use them to vote in all elections. They also do not need to register afresh.
“Registering more than once is an offence under the law,” the INEC spokesperson enunciated.
With plenty of egg on his face, Tinubu walked back his comments and apologised for his gaffe.
“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,” Tinubu’s spokesperson wrote in a press statement, as the politician got dragged on social media.
However, during a recent campaign event in Lagos on Saturday, April 16, Tinubu incredulously repeated his claim that PVCs do expire.
“If you have no PVC, if you have no revalidation of that PVC, you don’t know whether it has expired.
“Don’t forget that there is expiry date on even your cash point. So, go and revalidate the cards.
“Those of you who have not registered, must go there. You can’t be part of 1.4billion people on Instagram and have no card for god sake,” the presidential aspirant screamed before a horde of young people who were hanging onto his every word.
A litany of gaffes, howlers
Tinubu has repeatedly been called out for his gaffes or verbal slips as he sets out his stall for a presidential run in the Spring.
In March of 2021, Tinubu apologised after saying he wanted 50 million youths–who would be fed corn, cassava and yam–conscripted into the Nigerian army, as a way of stimulating a moribund economy, fighting insecurity and fixing the nation’s perennial unemployment challenge in one fell swoop.
Tinubu’s panacea was met with stinging criticism and mockery; as his suggested figure is one fourth of the Nigerian population and would outnumber any Armed Forces across the world by a wide margin.
Only recently, Tinubu said “young people tweet on WhatsApp,” an unknown social media lingo and technological impossibility at this time.
The 70-year-old former Governor of Lagos, who has stated that the nation’s number one job remains a lifelong ambition for him, has also looked unwell and unfit in public, stuttering through his speeches or mangling them outright, shivering as he canvasses support for his presidential bid; and reportedly peeing on himself at the palace of a traditional ruler.
“So if he wetted his Babariga, he would not cover it and would still move to lie flat to greet the Awujale of Ijebu-land in the full glare of everyone present?”, the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Support Group wrote in his defense in February.
