The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has alerted Nigerians to an alleged organised operation to purchase and collect Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, from citizens in parts of the North ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The party alleged that individuals acting in the interest of the ruling party were offering money to vulnerable citizens in exchange for their PVCs.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said it had received multiple reports of the alleged operation.
The party said it was taking steps to document the reports and gather credible evidence to identify those behind the operation.
“This is not ordinary vote-buying. A PVC collected from its rightful owner cannot ordinarily be used by another person because accreditation requires biometric verification.
“The real objective may therefore be to prevent targeted citizens from voting altogether. This is organised voter suppression, and it represents a direct assault on the constitutional rights of Nigerians,” the party said.
The ADC also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and security agencies to launch an immediate investigation into the reports, identify those financing and coordinating the alleged operation, and prosecute all individuals found purchasing, collecting or unlawfully retaining voters’ cards.
The party urged citizens approached by PVC buyers to refuse their offers, preserve any available evidence and report the incident immediately to INEC, the security agencies or the nearest ADC office.
“The same ruling party under whose watch millions of Nigerians have been pushed deeper into poverty must not be allowed to weaponise that poverty against them. Those who have failed to earn the people’s confidence must not be permitted to purchase their silence,” the statement said.
“A PVC is not merely a piece of plastic. It is the citizen’s voice, power and protection against bad government. The money offered for it may last for one day, but the consequences of surrendering it will last for four years.”
The ADC also called on civil society organisations, election observers, the media, traditional rulers, religious leaders and community associations to intensify public sensitisation and help expose any attempt to disenfranchise Nigerians ahead of the 2027 elections.
The party warned that the purchase or collection of PVCs must not be dismissed as routine political misconduct, stressing that any coordinated effort to remove voting cards from the hands of citizens amounts to an attempt to predetermine the election by deciding who will be allowed to participate.
“To every Nigerian, particularly voters across the North, our message is simple: keep your PVC, protect your power and use it. Do not allow anyone to turn your present hardship into their electoral advantage. Your vote belongs to you, and no one has the right to take it away,” it added.