INEC Ends Voter Registration As Obi Urges Commission To Extend Exercise
- By Metropolix ~
- July 26, 2026 --
- 0 Comment
— Peter Obi, INEC logo
By Familua Ademola
Despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission has insisted that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise ends today (Sunday).
The opposition parties and CSOs demanded that the exercise be extended to allow more eligible Nigerians to register, while INEC urged those yet to register to take advantage of the remaining hours before the registration window closes.
In a notice issued on its X handle on Saturday, the commission said the exercise would end today, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
However, the presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Peter Obi, has called on INEC to extend the ongoing voter registration exercise to allow more eligible Nigerians, particularly newly-turned adults, to register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Obi urged INEC in a statement he shared on X on Thursday to consider pushing the registration deadline to “the latest practical date” that still allows enough time to prepare a credible voters’ register before the polls.
He noted that young Nigerians turn 18 every day and become constitutionally eligible to vote, describing them as key stakeholders in the country’s democracy.
“They are not just our future; they are stakeholders in our present,” he said, warning that it would be “unfortunate” if many of them were shut out of the process simply because registration closed too early.
Obi anchored his appeal on a Federal High Court judgment delivered on 22 November 2022 in the case of Anaja Salmat & 3 Others v. INEC (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1342/2022).
According to him, the court held that voter registration should continue until 90 days to a general election, in order to protect the constitutional voting rights of eligible citizens.
While acknowledging the scale of INEC’s responsibility to deliver a credible election, Obi said the commission also needs adequate time to clean up the voters’ register and complete logistical preparations.
He argued, however, that the electoral process “should, as much as possible, maximise participation rather than limit it.”
He added that democracy is strengthened when every eligible citizen has a chance to be heard, and called on INEC to adopt a timeline that balances the integrity of the process with the need to prevent the disenfranchisement of young Nigerians.
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