By Sunday Ameh
The Executive Director of the Center for Responsive Governance, Ayodeji Ologun, has criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its approach to the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, arguing that it is misleading and unlawful to describe the exercise as “continuous” when it has a fixed closing date.
Ologun made the remarks on Monday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, while reviewing the recently concluded nationwide voter registration exercise.
According to him, voter registration should be available all year round without opening or closing dates, allowing every Nigerian who attains the age of 18 to register immediately.
“It is illegal. It is unfair that you call something continuous voter registration and then put a closing date on it. What justifies the grammatical use of the word ‘continuous’?” he asked.
INEC had extended the CVR exercise by two weeks, shifting the deadline from July 10 to July 26, 2026, following increased demand and appeals from civil society groups. However, after the extended period expired, the commission closed both its online registration portal and physical registration centres nationwide, insisting there would be no further extension.
The electoral body explained that the decision was in line with Section 17 of the Electoral Act 2022, which requires the suspension of voter registration at least 90 days before a general election. It also cited the need to clean the voter register, eliminate duplicate registrations and prepare Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Ologun, however, argued that the country’s voter registration process remains outdated. He attributed the fixed registration period to the fact that the same personnel responsible for voter registration are also deployed to conduct elections.
“We are living an archaic life in Nigeria. Voter registration should not have an opening or closing date. The reason they shut it down is because the same officials handling registration are also the ones INEC deploys for elections,” he said.
He maintained that despite lasting almost a year and becoming the longest voter registration exercise since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, the exercise failed to address growing voter apathy.
According to him, repeated extensions of the exercise reflected the unwillingness of many eligible Nigerians to participate in the electoral process.
“Nigerians are reluctant to register, and this confirms the growing voter apathy that civil society organisations and political observers have continued to raise. When citizens refuse to participate, only a minority ends up deciding who governs the majority,” he stated.
Ologun proposed that INEC should adopt a fully digital voter registration system, allowing eligible Nigerians to register online, choose their preferred PVC collection centres or have their voter cards delivered to their homes.
He also advocated greater integration of national databases, arguing that information already captured by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) should be sufficient for voter registration and other government services.
The governance advocate further stressed that the true measure of electoral success should not be the number of registered voters but the number of citizens who eventually cast their ballots.
Using the recent incident in Osun State as an example, Ologun noted that gunmen reportedly attacked a PVC collection centre shortly after distribution commenced, raising concerns about the security of the electoral process.
He questioned how INEC would invalidate the stolen PVCs before the 2027 elections, while also highlighting other factors discouraging voter participation, including insecurity, uncollected PVCs, population mobility and the challenges faced by students who relocate after registering.
Ologun concluded by expressing concern over Nigeria’s voter participation rate, claiming that although millions of Nigerians are eligible to vote, a significant number remain unregistered, while many of those who register still fail to vote on election day. According to him, addressing these structural challenges is essential to strengthening the country’s democratic process.
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