INEC commences physical registration of voters from states, local offices

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will commence physical registration of voters in its state and local government area offices after consulting stakeholders and reviewing the security situation across the country.

INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu announced this yesterday in Abuja at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) which, among others, discussed issues concerning the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

According to him, the commission has already configured enough machines and commenced deployment nationwide for further training of officials in readiness for the commencement of the physical registration exercise.

“The commission is aware that not all Nigerians have access to computers, smart phones or internet connectivity to register online. Accordingly, we have repeatedly assured every eligible registrant that there will also be an opportunity for physical or in-person registration at designated centres.

“Even the online registrants will have to complete their registration physically at those centres.

“Our aim is to activate some 2,673 centres to which we intend to deploy 5,346 officials for in-person registration. However, after consultation with stakeholders, the commission is proceeding systematically as we review the security situation across the country.

“We agreed with stakeholders, including the security agencies, to start from our state and local government offices. This means an initial 811 locations nationwide made up of 36 states and FCT offices and 774 local government areas,” Yakubu said.

While giving an update on the online pre-registration of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), Yakubu said exactly two weeks since the exercise began, a total of 542,576 Nigerians have completed the online pre-registration as of 7am last Monday.