Voter Registration: INEC Clarifies May 30 Deadline As Nigerians Groan Over Portal ‘Glitch’

As the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to suspend the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) approaches, many Nigerians have groaned about not being able to complete the exercise due a glitch on the INEC CVR portal.

INEC had on several occasions extended the deadline for the CRV, with the last extension elapsing May 30, 2022.

The commission had explained that the deadline was set to enable clean up of the registration data, printing of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) and compilation of the register ahead of the 2023 general election.

A resident of Enugu, Chika Obodo, told THE WHISTLER in an interview that she was unable to complete the online registration because she didn’t receive the usual notice sent via the portal containing the date for physical biometric capture.

Chika said, “I have followed all the necessary steps given by INEC to complete my online registration but no available date for biometrics”.

Feyi Ojewale, a resident of Gwagwalada in Abuja, narrated similar experience she had after the online registration.

Ojewale told this website in an interview: “I can’t complete my registration because there was no scheduled date.

“When I clicked Gwagwalada as my location, it showed no available date. I even had to go as far as choosing Abaji, Kuje and AMAC but the same information appeared.

“This is my first time registering for my PVC because I want to vote, but I am already feeling discouraged.”

Meanwhile, INEC’s National Electoral Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, told THE WHISTLER via a phone interview that the online registration portal would be shut down on May 30, 2022.

Okoye said the implication is that no date will be given and those with such challenges should either go to the state or local government’s offices of the commission to complete their registration.

He added, “In some of the states of the federation, we are doing what is called ROTATION, and we are rotating within the various wards or registration areas”.

Okoye said if there is an overwhelming crowd at any of their state or local government offices, applicants would will be notified where to go for easy registration.

He noted, “The online registration which ends tomorrow doesn’t affect Nigerians from registering after tomorrow but they have to do physical registration rather than online.

“For Nigerians that have registered online, but have no scheduled date shouldn’t worry because their registration is valid, all they need to do is to visit any state or local government INEC office and complete their registration.

“They will register them based on the data they have uploaded, and It doesn’t take up to 5min to complete the exercise”.

Okoye said there’s no need for panic as the physical registration is open still June 30th, but urged Nigerians who have completed the process to get their PVCs.