The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has maintained that the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise will officially end today (Sunday), despite growing calls from opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension.
The commission reaffirmed its position in a notice posted on its official X account on Saturday, stating that all designated registration centres would operate from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. before the exercise concludes.
INEC encouraged eligible Nigerians who have not yet registered to make use of the remaining hours, adding that prospective voters could either complete the process through its online CVR portal or visit designated registration centres for physical registration.
The electoral body explained that the closure is necessary to enable officials to clean and verify the voter database, remove duplicate registrations, and prepare the voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna said there would be no extension of the registration exercise, stressing that the commission must begin backend processing immediately after the deadline.
According to him, the commission’s Information Technology team and Voter Registration Department will deploy the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to identify and eliminate multiple registrations before publishing the provisional voters’ register for claims and objections.
Haruna noted that the final number of newly registered voters would only be confirmed after the verification process is completed and the cleaned register is merged with the existing national voters’ register.
He also dismissed concerns that millions of Nigerians would be disenfranchised, stating that the commission could only register eligible citizens who presented themselves during the registration period.
INEC Chairman’s Chief Press Secretary, Dayo Oketola, also defended the decision, saying it complies with constitutional and legal provisions and is essential for preparations leading to the 2027 elections.
He added that the commission had conducted extensive voter education campaigns nationwide and had previously extended the exercise to provide more opportunities for eligible Nigerians to register.
According to INEC’s latest figures, 2,970,257 Nigerians were registered during Phase III, Week Nine of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
The data showed that 970,865 registrations were completed online, while 2,000,092 were carried out physically across the country.
Female voters accounted for 1,561,765 registrations, while 1,409,192 males completed the exercise. Young people aged between 18 and 34 constituted the largest age group, with over two million registrations.
The commission also reported that students recorded the highest number of registrations by occupation, while Kano State led all states with the highest number of registered voters during the exercise.
Meanwhile, several opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Labour Party (LP), and a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), criticised the planned closure, arguing that more eligible Nigerians should be given the opportunity to register.
Civil society organisations also called for an extension, insisting that keeping the registration window open for a few more weeks would encourage wider participation and strengthen Nigeria’s democratic process.
However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and election observer group Yiaga Africa backed INEC’s decision, saying the commission requires adequate time to clean the voters’ register and complete other critical preparations before the elections.
