Senate Retains Two-Year Jail Term for PVC Trading, Raises Fine to ₦5m

The Senate has rejected a proposal to impose a 10-year jail term on individuals involved in the buying and selling of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), opting instead to retain the existing two-year imprisonment while increasing the fine from ₦2 million to ₦5 million.

The decision was taken during clause-by-clause consideration of the Electoral Amendment Bill, specifically under Clause 22.

Lawmakers also made significant adjustments to Nigeria’s electoral timelines. Under Clause 28, the Senate reduced the notice of election period from 360 days to 180 days before polling day.

Similarly, Clause 29 was amended to shorten the deadline for political parties to submit candidates’ lists and affidavits from 180 days to 90 days before a general election. The provision also mandates that all candidates must emerge from valid party primaries.

The Senate retained Clause 44, which governs ballot paper formats. INEC is required to invite political parties not later than 20 days before an election to inspect samples of electoral materials, with parties given two days to approve or reject how their names, logos, and symbols appear.

Under Clause 47, lawmakers adopted the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for voter accreditation and voting but rejected electronically generated voter identification, maintaining the Permanent Voter’s Card as the only valid means of identification at polling units.

Meanwhile, the Senate deleted Clause 142, which dealt with the effect of non-compliance in election matters, arguing that it could unnecessarily restrict oral evidence and waste judicial time during election petitions.

For the bill to become law, both the Senate and the House of Representatives must harmonise their versions before transmitting it to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

In a related development, the Labour Party, a Turaki-led faction of the PDP, former PDP Deputy National Chairman Chief Olabode George, and APGA founder Chief Chekwas Okorie have criticised the Senate’s rejection of electronic transmission of election results.