PVC Registration: Citizens Call On INEC To Extend Exercise

Nigerians who could not complete the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the exercise after the deadline elapsed on Sunday, July 31.

The exercise had been extended by the electoral body from June 30 to July 31, 2022, to allow citizens to obtain their Permanent Voter's Card (PVC) ahead of the 2023 election but many were still unable to do so.

As reported by Daily Post, intending voters who were present at some centres in Abuja on Sunday lamented over an alleged plot to disenfranchise them.

Ojo K.T., one of those who spoke to the news outlet, stated that he had been trying to register since Monday, adding that the authorities are afraid of the impending revolution.

“I think they just don’t want us to vote. Look at the people that are going to be denied the opportunity to participate in the election. What is wrong in this country?

“If you look around, you will notice that most of us here that have been here since 3 am this morning are youths. They are afraid of the revolution that is coming and that is why they are deliberately pushing us away."

Speaking further, he added: "We must hit the street to demand the extension of the exercise. It is our right to vote and nobody should violate that right."

In another area, Bwari, it was disclosed that only computers were spotted in the INEC office despite the large number of citizens making their way since the commencement of the exercise.

Goodluck Ibem, the President General of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) revealed that several residents in the southeast were unable to register.

“The 2022 voters’ registration exercise looks like a calculated attempt by some politicians to deny the people of Southeast the opportunity of registering for their voter’s card."

Ibem stated that the region was deliberately deprived of adequate equipment for the exercise as he alleged that it was not the case in the northern part of the country.

“In the North, we are very aware that the INEC provided sufficient and adequate registration materials for the exercise”. he stated.

Also speaking an activist named Adetunji Abiola opined that INEC refusing to extend the exercise may result in mass protest across the nation.

“Now that Nigerian youths want to fully participate in elections for the first time, we have been denied the opportunity to do that.

"I can tell you that over a million Nigerian youths are going to be disenfranchised if we don’t act on time.

“We give this government at least a week to reopen the INEC portal for more registration or they may force us to the street so that the international community can come to our aid."