The Independent National Electoral Commission has insisted that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise ends today (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.

Sunday PUNCH reports that the opposition parties and CSOs demanded that the exercise be extended to allow more eligible Nigerians to register, while INEC urged those yet to register to take advantage of the remaining hours before the registration window closes.

In a notice issued on its X handle on Saturday, the commission said the exercise would end today, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.

“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the commission stated.

INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.

The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.

The law also requires the commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.

INEC rules out extension

The INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, told Sunday PUNCH that the commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.

“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.

Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data imme’iately after the closure o’ the registration window.

He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.

“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.

According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.

“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Haruna added.

Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.

He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Dayo Oketola, also said the decision to end the Continuous Voter Registration exercise was in line with constitutional and legal provisions and necessary to pave the way for preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said there was no unusual pressure on the registration portal, stressing that the system was built to accommodate the volume of applicants throughout the exercise.

Oketola dismissed concerns that the closure of the registration exercise would disenfranchise eligible Nigerians, noting that the exercise had already been extended to ensure all interested voters had ample opportunity to register.

He noted that the commission embarked on extensive nationwide voter education and awareness campaigns to encourage participation.

“The states have pictorial evidence of the awareness campaigns and voter education carried out by the commission,” he added.

According to him, bringing the registration exercise to an end is necessary to allow the commission to complete several critical activities before the elections.

He warned that allowing voter registration to continue indefinitely would disrupt the commission’s preparations.

INEC registers 2.9m Nigerians in CVR Phase III

INEC has registered 2,970,257 eligible Nigerians in Phase III, Week Nine of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

The figure, which comprises completed online and physical registrations as of July 17, 2026, was contained in data released by the electoral commission and obtained by Sunday PUNCH.

The exercise has, however, been suspended in Osun State ahead of the forthcoming governorship election, in line with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022.

INEC said the figure was preliminary and subject to cleaning during the period for claims and objections, after which the Automated Biometric Identification System would be deployed to identify and eliminate multiple registrations.

The data showed that 970,865 registrants, representing 33.79 per cent, completed the process online, while 2,000,092, or 66.21 per cent, were captured physically across the country.

Female registrants accounted for 1,561,765, representing 52.57 per cent of the total, while 1,409,192 males accounted for 47.43 per cent.

The age distribution showed that young Nigerians dominated the exercise, with 2,003,183 registrants, representing 67.43 per cent, aged between 18 and 34.

Those aged between 35 and 49 accounted for 645,651 registrations; those aged between 50 and 69 accounted for 294,443, while 27,680 persons aged 70 and above registered during the period under review, representing 0.93 per cent of the total.

Students constituted the largest occupational group, with 695,026 registrations, representing 23.39 per cent, followed by business owners with 626,523 registrations, or 21.09 per cent.

Farmers and fishermen recorded 505,402 registrations, representing 17.01 per cent, while 480,682 housewives, or 16.18 per cent, also completed the registration process.

Artisans accounted for 152,184 registrations, traders 133,834, civil servants 74,507 and public servants 47,778.

INEC also recorded the registration of 32,361 persons living with disabilities.

Kano State recorded the highest number of registrations with 234,305, followed by Lagos with 140,546 and Edo with 139,313.

Delta recorded 132,330 registrations, while Taraba had 113,409, Ebonyi 111,344, Sokoto 109,076, Ogun 96,571, Bauchi 96,061, Jigawa 95,592 and Kaduna 92,505.

Benue recorded 88,840 registrations, Oyo 88,716, Imo 88,155, Anambra 87,195, Nasarawa 86,914, Cross River 86,559 and Bayelsa 80,425.

Niger recorded 76,841 registrations, Kwara 76,084, Katsina 74,896, Gombe 74,152, Yobe 71,382, Kebbi 70,859, Kogi 69,713, Adamawa 65,505, Borno 44,866, the FCT 41,700 and Plateau 31,352.

The report also showed that the North-West recorded a high number of registrations among the six geopolitical zones.

ADC, LP, CSOs demand extension

Speaking to Sunday PUNCH, the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Bolaji Abdullahi, said voter registration should not be tied to specific timelines.

According to him, Nigerians should have unrestricted access to the registration process whenever they decide to participate in the electoral process.

“We have also mobilised people across the country to INEC to register, but you know it is not easy for people to abandon their daily work to go and queue for hours at INEC offices for registration. What we have done is mobilise our people at the grassroots level,” he said.

Similarly, the National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee of the Taminu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ini Ememobong, told Sunday PUNCH that the electoral umpire should prioritise inclusivity by extending the registration exercise.

According to him, while the party had embarked on grassroots mobilisation to encourage eligible Nigerians to register, many citizens remained reluctant because of what he described as dwindling confidence in INEC’s ability to conduct free, fair and credible elections.

“Nigerians are discouraged, and this is putting them off registering. Unless INEC clearly demonstrates that it is Impartial and capable of conducting credible elections, it will continue to have a negative impact on participation,” he said.

In the same vein, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, faulted the planned closure, arguing that the exercise was designed to be continuous and should remain open to accommodate eligible Nigerians, including those who would attain voting age before the elections.

He cautioned INEC against disenfranchising eligible Nigerians.

“The name of the exercise is Continuous Voter Registration, and we should start with the name and allow people who have an interest in participating in the election to register.

“I don’t see how people registering even up to December can obstruct what INEC is doing, so long as those people are not going to contest elections.

“It is only in Nigeria that electoral umpires put barriers in place to keep people from participating. In most other countries, once you have a national identity, it is enough for you to vote, but here they are making it a big deal.

“I don’t know where the idea of stopping people from participating in the CVR comes from or how it will help INEC. Millions of Nigerians will turn 18 by December. Are they saying those people should not register?” Ifoh said.

The concerns over the closure were also echoed by CSOs, which called on INEC to extend the registration window, arguing that the exercise had been halted too early.

Speaking to Sunday PUNCH, the President of Women Arise for Change Initiative, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, said the commission should consider extending the registration period, given that about six months remained before the 2027 general elections.

She, however, said any extension should be based on the need to deepen democratic participation rather than pressure from political parties.

“Given that there are six clear months before the general elections, there may be a need to relax the closure of voter registration for some more weeks.

“It should not be in response to the demand of political parties but in response to the need to make our democratic process more participatory. Such an extension may be effective for new voters at INEC offices nationwide only,” Okei-Odumakin added.

Similarly, the Chairman of the BallotEyes Working Group, Olasupo Abideen, described the closure as premature.

Abideen said, “To be honest, when we say something is continuous, it should be continuous voter registration. Because the moment INEC closes the portal, especially with more than six months before the election, I think it is wrong.”

He explained that INEC could have extended the exercise until November, noting that CSOs had consistently supported an extension to enable more Nigerians to participate in choosing their leaders.

“We want more Nigerians to decide those who govern us. We want more Nigerians to be part of the decision-making and electoral processes in Nigeria.”

Abideen said the full digitalisation of the registration process should make it easier for INEC to keep the portal open for longer.

He noted that the previous process, which required prospective voters to complete an initial stage online before visiting a physical registration centre, discouraged many Nigerians from registering.

Also, the Executive Director of the Socio-Economic and Civic Rights Advocacy, Emmanuel Olowu, questioned the legal and administrative basis for INEC’s decision to close the exercise about six months before the elections.

He said Section 9(5) of the Electoral Act 2022 provided that voter registration should stop no later than 90 days before an election, while Section 10(1) provided for Continuous Voter Registration.

“If the law allows registration to continue until no later than 90 days before the election, why has INEC ended the exercise about 180 days before polling? What legal, administrative or logistical reasons justify this early closure?” Olowu asked.

APC, Yiaga Africa back INEC

However, the APC National Vice Chairman (South-East), Dr Ijeomah Arodiogbu, while speaking with Sunday PUNCH, said INEC required a registration deadline to adequately plan for the elections, including determining the number of registered voters and the distribution of election materials.

He said the APC would not oppose any decision by INEC, provided it did not disrupt the commission’s electoral timetable.

“Talking about an extension; we are willing to indulge the other political parties because they would otherwise complain that INEC is biased against them. Meanwhile, INEC gave equal time to all the political parties, and they failed to do the needful but preferred to spread false narratives to deceive the people.

“INEC also gave an extension for the upload of candidates, and we welcomed it even though we had met the initial timeframe. If it is the decision of INEC and it will not affect its programme, we have no objection,” Ifoh said.

Also, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, defended INEC’s decision, saying the commission acted within the timelines stipulated by the Electoral Act and its published election timetable.

While acknowledging that the closure might disappoint some eligible voters who had yet to register, Itodo stressed that adherence to the electoral timetable was critical to effective election planning.

He said, “The commission requires sufficient time to clean the register, adjudicate claims and objections, remove duplicates, print voter registers and complete other pre-election preparations. While the closure may disappoint some prospective voters, certainty and adherence to the electoral timetable are essential for effective election planning.”

On calls for an extension of the exercise, Itodo said such a move should only be considered if it would not disrupt the election timetable or compromise the integrity of the voters’ register.

He, however, urged INEC to make the CVR exercise genuinely continuous, saying eligible Nigerians should have multiple opportunities to register long before election periods.

Explaining the low turnout recorded during the exercise, the Yiaga Africa boss attributed it to declining public confidence in elections, inadequate public awareness, logistical barriers and the prevailing economic hardship. (Sunday PUNCH)

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