diff --git a/lib/libpmc/libpmc_pmu_util.c b/lib/libpmc/libpmc_pmu_util.c
--- a/lib/libpmc/libpmc_pmu_util.c
+++ b/lib/libpmc/libpmc_pmu_util.c
@@ -622,7 +622,6 @@
 	if (pmu_parse_event(&ped, pe->event))
 		return (ENOENT);
 
-	assert(ped.ped_event >= 0);
 	pm->pm_ev = idx;
 	pm->pm_md.pm_event = ped.ped_event;
 	pm->pm_class = PMC_CLASS_POWER8;