2023 Election: INEC, House of Reps Denies Extension of Voter Registration
Thursday, June 23, 2022
It appears that reports affirming the INEC’s extension of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise are false. This was confirmed by electoral body through the spokesperson of the INEC boss, Rotimi Oyekanmi who maintains that the June 30 deadline stands Similarly, the House of Reps committee on electoral matters also debunked that the committee announced the extension of the CVR exercise at plenary on Wednesday, June 22.
Nigeria’s electoral body, the independent electoral commission (INEC) has played down reports by media stating that it has agreed to extend the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise by 60 days.
Both INEC and the House of Representatives have denied the extension of the CVR exercise with the June 30 deadline still on the card.
Reacting to the report, the spokesperson to the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, stated that those reports were false and that the commission has not issued a statement confirming the extension.
Meanwhile, prior to the recent development, there have been agitations from different electoral stakeholders urging INEC to extend the CVR exercise. According to a report by Premium Times, civil society group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 185 concerned had filed a suit against INEC asking the court to “declare unconstitutional, illegal, and incompatible with international standards the failure of the electoral body to extend the deadline for voter registration to allow eligible Nigerians to exercise their rights.”
However, just like INEC, the House of Reps spokesperson, Benjamin Kalu, described media report that the green chamber announced the extension of CVR exercise as “untrue”. Flanked by the chairman, of the House Committee on INEC, Hajia Aisha Dukku, he said the decision on the shift is left to Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu-led INEC to take.
Kalu acknowledged that INEC may not be able to adhere to the recently adopted motion of the House, which demanded an extension of the exercise by two additional months in view of the extant provision of the electoral amendment Act and the 1999 Constitution as amended.
He reiterated the resolve of the House to ensure that eligible voters are not disenfranchised in the 2023 poll. Dukku expressed optimism that INEC would heed the call for an extension.
