By Idris Umar, Abuja with Agency reports

Anger and frustration have greeted the termination of the nationwide Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) on Sunday, July 31 by the national electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The commission has insisted that there would be no time extension to accommodate eligible voters who were not able to be captured, for often times no fault of theirs as the exercise in many centres were hobbled by malfunctioning and inadequate capture machines.

It could be recalled that the deadline for termination of the exercise was earlier fixed for June 30.

According to INEC, Commissioner on Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Festus Okoye, who spoke on Saturday the nationwide Continuous Voters’ Registration exercise will end on Sunday, July 31, and there would be no extension of date, saying INEC was working within the confines of timetable and the electoral law.
Okoye, made the declaration during a press conference at the Commission’s headquarters in Awka, the Anambra’ State, capital.

Okoye explained that the continuous registration, started on June 28, 2021, with the launch of the online pre-registration of fresh registrants adding that it was the Commission’s desire and hope “to finish well” in the present circumstance.
“The CVR process will terminate tomorrow (Sunday) being the 31st day of July 2022. The Commission has to bring this process to a close because we have to carry out dedublication of all the registered voters to remove double and multiple registrants.
“The commission has to bring the CVR to a close because the law mandates the commission to display the voters register in the 774 Local Government Areas of Nigeria and the 8, 809 registration areas for claims and objections. Thereafter the Commission has to trim the registered cards of the fresh registrants, those who applied for transfer, those had damaged PVCs or defective PVCs and we have to sort all the permanent voters cards back to the various local governments for purposes of collection.
“It will be completely useless for people to register and not be in a position to collect their permanent voters cards,” he stated.

Okoye noted that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission Professor Mahmood Yakubu has promised the nation that the permanent voters cards for those who registered between January and June will be ready by October this year.

“But those who are registering between the first day of July and 31st of July will be ready in November. In July 2021, we launched the physical process of registration and this was carried out in our states and local government offices before we escalated into our registration processes at various registration areas on a rotational basis.

He noted that the registration process slowed down in parts of the South-East due to the problem of insecurity, and that the INEC office in Anambra devised means to control the surge that started rising almost a month ago.
He disçlosed that they isolated non biometric measures by training their staff to meet with the necessary demands of individuals.

He disçlosed that the IVED machines were taken to the markets, churches, NYSC camps and NUJ Secretariats as well as places where there were large concentration of people, so as to decongest highly populated areas and created Complaints Desks and Log Platforms, which helped in responding to all the complaints for necessary resolution of all issues, adding that such interventions were carried out in 82 locations.

He comnended the involvement of traditional rulers, community leaders, town union executives and President Generals of town unions, the media and security agencies for the tremenous role they played through their interventions, strategies and others ideas towards the success of the exercise in the state and beyond.

While similar measures have been applied in all the states due to the surge of registrants, it appears that indeed, they weren’t effective enough in ensuring that all eligible voters were registered to vote in next year’s election.

2023: North-west APC Calls for Extension of Voters’ Registration

Following the likely disenranchisement of voters in the the six Northwest states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the zone has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend voters’ registration to allow additional eligible voters acquire their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
 
Mr Musa Mada, the Zonal Publicity Secretary of the party, made the call during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Kaduna.

 Mada said the call for the extension had become necessary following mass rush by eligible voters to get registered ahead of the 2023 general elections.
 
“We are concerned about the number of people trooping to INEC office on daily basis, most of whom are yet to be captured.
 
“It will only be fair if an extension of the closing date be considered so that additional eligible voters will be registered,” Mada added.
 
He also urged INEC to consider the possibility of creating additional registration centres, saying this would ease dificulty faced by the eligible voters.
 
“Thousands of eligible voters might be disenfranchised due to difficulties being faced to access registration centers.
 
“INEC should know that the whole exercise bothers on the people, as such, it will not be fair to disenfranchise them,” he said.

On its part, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) for Good Governance has appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to further extend the July 31 deadline for the termination of  Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

The coalition made the appeal in a letter signed by its Convener, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, addressed to INEC Chairman and submitted at the commission’s headquarters on Friday in Abuja.

According to the letter, the CSOs urged INEC to magnanimously consider extending the deadline for the exercise in favour of the 2023 general elections.
The CSOs said that its appeal was anchored on information reaching it from several parts of the country, across the six geo-political zones.
It stated that large segments of the population have not been able to register after queuing up at various registration centres without any hope of being registered.

“If this deadline is not extended, millions of Nigerians will be disenfranchised and since this problem may enhance the narrative of marginalisation, which cannot augur well for democracy in Nigeria.
“During the anticipated extension of the deadline for voter registration, INEC will have the opportunity of addressing the lapses which have been experienced.
“By law, INEC enjoys the liberty of official closure of 90 days to the elections, so extending it by at least one month will enable good citizens of Nigeria to register,” the letter stated.
Ndubuaku, who led members of the society in a protest to submit the letter, urged INEC to consider the plead of Nigerians.
“Somebody might say even if you extend it forever some people might not still register. But so long that we still have crowd at the centres it means that we still have people who are waiting.
“Some people are afraid that they may not be able to register in the remaining two days.
“We know the tenacity of INEC that you can extend it a little bit, which will still be within the law.

“We know you have extended it several times. You have tried, but all over the country there are still long queues,” Ndubuaku said.
He said while the coalition could not force INEC to extend it as well as know its constraints, they believe that INEC could still consider the request, “even if it is to ask for more fund which is justifiable”.

Ndubuaku said that if the request could be granted, the coalition made up of about 25 CSOs, would mobilise support of NIgerians for INEC on the exercise.
Receiving the letter, the Assistant Director, Security Unit, INEC, Mrs Endurance Babaginda, said that the letter would be forwarded to the INEC chairman.
The commission fixed July 31 as the deadline to allow it perform the legal requirements it has to undertake before the general elections.

These includes clean-up of voter register, display details of the newly registrants at each of the 8,809 Registration Areas (Wards) across the 774 Local Government Areas and printing of millions of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

Defranchised Abuja Residents Cry out to INEC to Extend Exercise 

Also, some Abuja residents in Kuje Area Council of FCT have appealed to INEC to extend the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) to enable eligible voters get registered before the 2023 general elections.

The residents made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Kuje.

They said that those willing to register had been coming out in large numbers in vain.

The exercise, which had been generally peaceful, orderly and hitch-free at the Kuje INEC office and some registration centres, experienced a massive crowd of registrants on Sunday.

The registrants included people who want to register for new Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), people whose cards had been defaced and those that wanted to effect transfer to another polling unit.

Mr Abraham Gado, a registrant, noted the success of the 2023 general election depended a lot on public perception of INEC as neutral and fair to all.

Gado insisted that large number of people in the six area councils were yet to register and collect their PVCs.

However, he acknowledged that the deadline for registration had been previously extended but appealed that INEC should consider extension so as not to disenfranchise anyone.

“If this deadline is not extended, millions of Nigerians will be disenfranchised and this may enhance the narrative of not choosing good leaders, which is not good for democracy in Nigeria.

“The extension is very important as it will build public trust towards peaceful electoral outcomes in the 2023 general election,” he said.

Mr Luka Ayuba, another registrant, reminded the electoral umpire of the provisions in the amended Electoral Act, which allowed for the extension of the voter registration.

Ayuba described the exercise as tedious and cumbersome, marred by delay in capturing, slow process and other technical hitches.
He, therefore, appealed for extension and deployment of more machines to different electoral wards in the area to fast track their registration and enable large number of people to be captured.

“This would result in the disenfranchisement of millions of Nigerians willing and eager to perform their civic responsibilities in the 2023 polls.

“Given the foregoing, we call on INEC to extend the Continuous Voters Registration till at least the end of August 2022.

“If the registration is extended it will help compensate for the identified technical difficulties faced and assure Nigerians that INEC is seen to be fair to all,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Yakubu Allawa, the Kuje INEC Electoral Officer (EO), said the office had only four functional machines for the entire area council, thereby making the exercise cumbersome.

Allawa said another major challenge the commission was facing was issue of poor network, which had been slowing down the process during capturing.

He added that adequate priority was being given to Persons with Disability (PWDs), the elderly and pregnant women in the area.
“We have been asking people to come out and register for a long time, this mentality of coming out at the last minute have to be discouraged.
“For long people refused to come out to register and now that the closure for the exercise is drawing nearer, people are trooping out in large numbers,” he said.

Many Nigerians ‘ll be Disenfranchised – IPAC

The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Lagos State, on its part has noted that many Nigerians may  not have  been  captured in the INEC Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) that ended nationwide on Sunday.
IPAC also said that many Nigerians that would be of voting age some months to the election would also be disenfranchised.
In Lagos state l those who registered online as at July 18, were 640, 560 but many of them had not completed their  registration, while  those who completed the registration exercise were 451, 156.
INEC Resident Electoral Commission (REC) in Lagos state, Mr Olusegun Agbaje said on July 24,  that  current statistics of July 18,  showed that Lagos state had about seven million registered voters.
The  REC disclosed that  the number was derived from  the new registrants so far in the ongoing CVR,  added to those in the old register of voters in the state.
IPAC Chairman in Lagos state, Mr Olusegun Mobolaji, however,  said that  INEC should reconsider ending the registration.
Mobolaji made the appeal as he spoke on Sunday, regarding the July 31 deadline of the CVR.
He said that for elections to be free, fair and credible, every eligible citizen must be allowed to participate in choosing the leadership they wanted.
“Everything about credible elections is voter register and voter cards, and if that is actually what INEC really stands for as unbiased umpire, for the purpose of democracy, INEC should be fair in all areas, especially in allowing those who have not registered to do so.
“I think INEC should have a way of allowing every eligible voter get their voter cards to choose the leadership they want,” he said.
He stressed that irrespective of the time the registration started, the commission should.not discontinue the exercise.
“Irrespective of the fact that INEC had started the voter enrollment exercise in 2021, if the time is not enough for everyone that want to participate in the  election to get registered and obtain a voter card, INEC should not stop registration,” he said.
He said that continuation of voter enrollment would  not affect every other electoral activity and processes put in place by the commission to conduct good elections.
According to him, INEC should continue until it becomes glaring that it will be impossible to print voter cards again, we will all know that they have done their best.
“I think voter registration can go  simultaneously with every other plan INEC has.
“There should be a way round this,  such that everyone that is of voting age is given the opportunity to be able to vote. We still have months to the election.”
Mobolaji said that INEC could get more gadgets and personnel to register every eligible citizen who presented themselves for the  registration.
“INEC may  have done its best but I can say that its best is not enough for the present dispensation as well as the requirements and demand of present democracy.
“Nigerians  want to be part of the decision making process. They want to elect good leaders. All  eligible citizens want to be part of it,” he stated.
According to him, the only way to reposition the country is through ballot and every qualified citizen should be allowed to vote in 2023.
He said that the crowd at enrollment centres across the country showed that the time for registration was not enough.