On Saturday, June 25, 2022, the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, assured Nigerians that the ongoing continuous voter registration, CVR, will exceed June 30, 2022, instead of the earlier deadline.

Yakubu’s clarification puts to rest speculations that the commission’s position may be at variance with the chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Aisha Dukku, who had announced that INEC agreed to extend the CVR after consideration of modalities.

Earlier at plenary, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Abia State, had moved a motion for the electoral body to extend the duration of CVR by 60 more days.

But at a separate meeting with the INEC chairman, the lawmakers were told that it was not possible to carry out an extension immediately despite the court order mandating INEC to hold on its decision of ending CVR by June 30.

June 28, 2022 would be exactly one year since INEC commenced the CVR exercise in preparation for the 2023 general election. As at Saturday, the commission reported that a total number of registered voters in the country had climbed to 84,004,084 with 176,846 polling units and 18 registered political parties.

While Nigerians and the court acted fittingly by requesting for more time to get more voters registered, in view of the country’s large population, there is the need to deal with a culture of complacency that has always precipitate the last-minute-rush syndrome on almost all issues of national importance.

We find it worrisome that an electorate battered by a bad economy, worsening insecurity and poor governance was engaged in lacklustre approach to a defining process leading to the election of qualified leaders to man its affairs in 2023.

Given the ample time provided for this exercise by INEC, a conscientious citizenry would have made every minute count, rather than abandon its fate to an administrative decision of a public agency which reserves the power to either reject or agree to its terms.

While Nigerians must be commended for their last minute effort to ensure they are not disenfranchised in 2023, it goes without saying that crowding INEC registration centres in a few days to deadline when they experienced limited responses for nearly a year, smacks of un-seriousness.

INEC commenced the CVR nearly a year ago, “to make voter registration easier, more accessible, and user-friendly not only to the multitude of prospective registrants, but also to registered voters who may wish to transfer their registration or have had their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) missing or defaced.”

The commission introduced innovations to enhance voter experience by making the registration exercise faster, easier, and less crowded than before.

“Given the lingering COVID-19 situation, the new registration solution will help decongest registration centres, reduce delays, and allow prospective registrants to schedule appointments and monitor their applications from the comfort of their homes.

“The portal allows a two-step registration process in which first, prospective registrants login to pre-register by providing their basic biodata and some biometrics and second to complete the registration by physically presenting themselves at a designated registration centre of their choice,” Yakubu explained.

But despite these laudable moves, which allowed the registration process to begin from the comfort of your home, some Nigerians waited until it was a few days to the deadline before crowding CVR centres to be captured.

Perhaps, public distrust over INEC’s conduct of previous elections played a role in subjecting many would-be voters to the dispiriting conclusion that their votes will not count; but INEC made frantic efforts to reassure Nigerians that it will deliver free, fair and credible polls.

Possibly, INEC’s appeal explains the resurgence of crowds at registration venues. Or rather, the June 8, 2022 Ekiti State Governorship Election served as a morale booster to many Nigerians who endorsed the exercise as peaceful, orderly and credible; and now see the prospects of INEC replicating same experience in 2023.

On Saturday, June 25, 2022, the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, assured Nigerians that the ongoing continuous voter registration, CVR, will exceed June 30, 2022, instead of the earlier deadline.

Yakubu’s clarification puts to rest speculations that the commission’s position may be at variance with the chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Aisha Dukku, who had announced that INEC agreed to extend the CVR after consideration of modalities.

Earlier at plenary, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Abia State, had moved a motion for the electoral body to extend the duration of CVR by 60 more days.

But at a separate meeting with the INEC chairman, the lawmakers were told that it was not possible to carry out an extension immediately despite the court order mandating INEC to hold on its decision of ending CVR by June 30.

June 28, 2022 would be exactly one year since INEC commenced the CVR exercise in preparation for the 2023 general election. As at Saturday, the commission reported that a total number of registered voters in the country had climbed to 84,004,084 with 176,846 polling units and 18 registered political parties.

While Nigerians and the court acted fittingly by requesting for more time to get more voters registered, in view of the country’s large population, there is the need to deal with a culture of complacency that has always precipitate the last-minute-rush syndrome on almost all issues of national importance.

We find it worrisome that an electorate battered by a bad economy, worsening insecurity and poor governance was engaged in lacklustre approach to a defining process leading to the election of qualified leaders to man its affairs in 2023.

Given the ample time provided for this exercise by INEC, a conscientious citizenry would have made every minute count, rather than abandon its fate to an administrative decision of a public agency which reserves the power to either reject or agree to its terms.

While Nigerians must be commended for their last minute effort to ensure they are not disenfranchised in 2023, it goes without saying that crowding INEC registration centres in a few days to deadline when they experienced limited responses for nearly a year, smacks of un-seriousness.

INEC commenced the CVR nearly a year ago, “to make voter registration easier, more accessible, and user-friendly not only to the multitude of prospective registrants, but also to registered voters who may wish to transfer their registration or have had their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) missing or defaced.”

The commission introduced innovations to enhance voter experience by making the registration exercise faster, easier, and less crowded than before.

“Given the lingering COVID-19 situation, the new registration solution will help decongest registration centres, reduce delays, and allow prospective registrants to schedule appointments and monitor their applications from the comfort of their homes.

“The portal allows a two-step registration process in which first, prospective registrants login to pre-register by providing their basic biodata and some biometrics and second to complete the registration by physically presenting themselves at a designated registration centre of their choice,” Yakubu explained.

But despite these laudable moves, which allowed the registration process to begin from the comfort of your home, some Nigerians waited until it was a few days to the deadline before crowding CVR centres to be captured.

Perhaps, public distrust over INEC’s conduct of previous elections played a role in subjecting many would-be voters to the dispiriting conclusion that their votes will not count; but INEC made frantic efforts to reassure Nigerians that it will deliver free, fair and credible polls.

Possibly, INEC’s appeal explains the resurgence of crowds at registration venues. Or rather, the June 8, 2022 Ekiti State Governorship Election served as a morale booster to many Nigerians who endorsed the exercise as peaceful, orderly and credible; and now see the prospects of INEC replicating same experience in 2023.