INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, has in a statement announced that the ongoing voter registration exercise would end on Sunday, June 31st 2022.
What’s more
Two major highlights of the statement apart from the deadline date of June 31st includes an extension of the hours in which the registration process would go on for daily (9am – 5pm), and the inclusion of weekends to meet the number of registrants as against only weekdays.
What you should know
- Nigerians called for the extension of the deadline for the ongoing continuous voter registration (CVR) exercise after INEC extended the deadline for political parties to conduct primaries and submit the names of their candidates.
- The House of Representatives intervened by urging INEC to extend the deadline on voters’ registration by 60 days. The motion by Ben Kalu (APC, Abia) stated that many Nigerians were yet to complete the process either due to the lack of sufficient registration materials or the social awareness for the need of a permanent voter’s card (PVC).
- The Federal High Court in Abuja presided by Honourable Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon ruled for the continuation of voters’ registration exercise by INEC after SERAP and 185 Nigerians filed a lawsuit against the commission.
What INEC is saying
INEC said it followed the “judgment delivered by the Federal High Court on Wednesday 13th July 2022, in which it dismissed the suit filed by SERAP, seeking an extension of the exercise beyond 30th June 2022.”
- “The court has affirmed that INEC is at liberty to appoint a date of its choice to suspend the CVR, provided it is not later than 90 days before the date is fixed for the General election.”