Preparations for 2019’s presidential election in Nigeria is building a gradual intensity in the media. Parties and individuals have been running both discreet and glaring campaigns to win the support of Nigerians. Though all parties concerned seem to be encouraging voters to get their PVCs (Permanent Voters Cards), the lingering worry for the credibility of the electoral process is unquestionable. That fear was highlighted over the weekend when a man found out the PVC could be bought on a Chinese site and tweeted about it.

Not to be an alarmist, please I found a post saying our PVCs are available on Chinese sites…so I went on https://t.co/YkaGkZolB2 myself & confirmed this.

I am only trying to know if this should be possible, what @inecnigeria plans to do about this & if govt knows about it. pic.twitter.com/rqjpAH6wW4

— Sage. (@Olufisiayo) July 1, 2018

The thread that followed his tweet explained how the “Alibaba.com” site was offering to sell the cards and provided a link to prove it. While the link doesn’t work anymore, there are screenshots serving as evidence to his shocking discovery. Through the replies, however, a possible reasons for the irregularity is offered through another Nigerian who disclosed that the company behind the making of the PVCs is ACT Technologies who won the contract ahead of Zinox but outsourced the creation of the card to a Chinese company.

It’s possible that the Chinese company used the cards as a sort of Ad for the service they can render without considering the consequence and its implication for the coming elections. As it stands, there’s no cause for alarm. But it’ll be interesting to see how INEC and other related agencies respond.

Featured Image Credits: Twitter/olufisiayomi

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