No fewer than 3.165 million Nigerians have applied to be registered as voters ahead of the 2023 general elections since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) resumed the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) three months ago.
The CVR which commenced on June 28, 2021 would clock first quarter on Tuesday, 21st September 2021.
Festus Okoye, INEC national commissioner and chairman, information & voter education committee in a statement on Monday said 1.457 Nigerians have applied for voter transfer, replacement of Permanent Voter’s Card (PVCs) and update of their voter information records.
Okoye stated that completed registrations now stands at 1,081,947 voters as at Monday and youths between the ages of 18 and 34 still constitute the majority with 771,770 (71.33%) completed registration.
He said in terms of occupation, students form the largest category with 439,608 (40.63%) and on gender distribution, 555,872 (51.38%) are male and 526,075 (48.62%) are female, adding that detailed figures for week 12 as of 7am today Monday, 20th September 2021 have been uploaded to the Commission’s website and social media platforms for public information.
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According to INEC chief spokesperson, “as provided by Section 19 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), the commission is mandated to publish the register of voters for a period of not less than 5 days and not more than 14 days for public scrutiny during which citizen may make claims and objections.
“In compliance with the law, the register of new voters will be displayed in the local government offices of the commission nationwide from September 24-30, 2021. The aim is to enable citizens assist the commission by identifying ineligible registrants on the list ahead of the cleaning up of the register before adding the fresh registrants to the current register and the printing of their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for future elections.
“For clarity, ineligible registrants include foreigners and Nigerians below the age of 18. Nigerians should also assist the commission to identify multiple registrants and deceased persons so that they can be removed from the register.
Okoye appealed to Nigerians for sustained cooperation and support in the INEC determination to conduct free and fair elections of which a credible register of voters is the foundation.
“The second quarter of the exercise begins on 4th October 2021 and ends on 20th December 2021. Further details will be announced by the commission before the commencement of the exercise”, he disclosed.
