Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that the body is considering extending the continuous voter registration exercise.
The chairman of the agency, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, in a tweet on its official handle which were sighted by said; ‘We have heard your requests loud & clear. You will soon hear from us on the extension of CVR registration.’
‘Please assure me that you will register, pick your PVCs, and Vote. I also assure you that your vote will count.’
His comments came on the heels of calls from several quarters for the body to extend the registration scheduled to end on June 30.
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On Friday, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room), a coalition of Civil Society Organisations, called on the electoral body to extend the deadline.
The CSOs believe ‘citizens have now intensified their efforts in registering for their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC).
‘There have also been several appeals by Nigerians to INEC to extend the registration exercise to enable them to register to obtain a PVC. Situation Room has received reports of large crowds at the INEC offices across the country.’
On the same day, the commission admitted there is a surge in PVC registration across the country.
‘In response, the Commission has immediately released additional 209 machines deployed mainly to the five South Eastern States, Lagos, and Kano where the pressure is most acute,” the Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee Festus Okoye said
‘The Commission will monitor the situation over the next few days. Thereafter, it will meet to review the progress of the exercise.’
The next general elections are expected to happen from February next year.