2023: Nigerians demand immediate extension of PVC registration, threaten mass protest

The deadline for the Continuous Voters Registration, CVR, expired yesterday, and Nigerians who were unable to register have petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to prolong the procedure.

On Sunday, several registration sites were packed with eager Nigerians looking to beat the June 25 deadline set by the electoral commission.

Remember that INEC extended the procedure from June 30 to July 31, 2022, to allow eligible Nigerians to apply for the Permanent Voter’s Card ahead of the general elections in 2023.

Although the service has been extended to churches and other locations to facilitate registration, many Nigerians are yet to register.

On Sunday, intended voters were enraged in some Abuja polling stations, claiming that there are plots to disenfranchise some Nigerians.

Mr. Ojo K.T, one of the irate PVC applicants who met with our correspondent in the Kubwa CVR facility, claimed he had been trying to register since Monday.

“I think they just don’t want us to vote,” he explained. Look at the people that are going to be denied the opportunity to participate in the election. What is the problem with 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 frightened of the approaching revolution, which is why they are actively driving us away.”

He claims that the only language understood by President Mummadu Buhari’s administration is protest, and that “we must take to the streets to demand the extension of the exercise. It is our right to vote and nobody should violate that right”.

Some of the centers lack basic workout equipment.

Despite the large crowds that have gathered at the Bwari INEC office since the exercise began, just two computers were visible.

Goodluck Ibem, President General of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, also expressed disappointment that numerous Southeast residents were unable to register during the exercise.

“The 2022 voter registration exercise appears to be a calculated attempt by some politicians to deny the people of Southeast the opportunity to register for their voter’s card,” he stated.

He claims that the Southeast was purposefully denied proper equipment for the exercise, claiming that the situation is different in portions of the North.

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

Similarly, an activist, Adetunji Abiola, informed our reporter that if the electoral board does not extend the registration period, there will be widespread protests across the nation.

He said, “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 registrations or they may force us to the street so that the international community can come to our aid”.

However, in a conversation with media in Awka, Anambra State’s capital, on Saturday, INEC National Commissioner for Voter Education and Publicity, Barr. Festus Okoye ruled out the prospect of extending the exercise.