Peter Obi Tells Nigerians: Get Your PVC, Reject Criminals in Disguise

Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called on Nigerians to seize the opportunity of the new voter registration exercise to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

His appeal comes as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) begins its nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise today, starting with the online pre-registration phase. The exercise is designed to prepare eligible citizens for the upcoming off-cycle elections in Anambra, Osun, and Ekiti States, as well as the 2027 general elections.

In a statement shared on Monday and titled “PVC is the Bridge to a New Nigeria”, Obi urged citizens—both young and old—to take voter registration seriously.

He said: “The future of our dear nation is in your hands. The greatest strength of democracy is in the voter’s card. Your PVC is the voice of the voiceless, the shield of the weak, and the weapon of the poor for a better life, against injustice and bad leadership. I appeal to every Nigerian: Get Organised and Make Election Rigging Difficult. Go out, register, collect your PVC, and hold it firmly as your bridge to a new Nigeria.”

Obi also cautioned against vote-buying, describing politicians who engage in it as impostors masking corruption with false generosity.

“Let us know this: those who buy votes are not offering you charity; they only invest in their own corruption. They buy votes so that they can buy their way into our treasury to steal public money. When they get into that office, they will loot the funds that should have been used to build schools, hospitals or provide good jobs. Such people are not leaders, they are criminals in disguise. They are no better than killers, armed robbers, and kidnappers, because they commit the same crime of destruction.”

Turning to citizens who sell their votes, Obi warned that they are also mortgaging their own future.

“To those who sell their votes, you are not just selling an election, you are selling the very opportunities that would have lifted you and your family out of poverty. You are selling the schools that your children should have attended, the hospitals that should save your loved ones and the jobs that would have given you dignity and a better life. Those who buy your vote are only buying it to make a profit from the seat of power, not to serve you.”

Obi stressed that safeguarding the nation’s democracy rests on the collective action of citizens determined to vote with conscience and integrity.