As the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) begins ahead of the 2027 General Elections, Nigerians have called upon the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that logistic challenges experienced in previous (CVR) exercise do not repeat itself this time.
INEC, on Monday, announced the commencement of online pre-registration of voters, which marks the first step of the (CVR) effort towards getting the Permanent voter Card (PVC), ahead of next General Elections.
But political stakeholders and ordinary Nigerians, who spoke to BusinessDay on the commencement of the CVR exercise, expressed fear on the readiness of the Commission, especially considering the large number of registrants that are expected.
Many Nigerians complained that the Commission must overcome the logistics challenges, especially the difficulty in the accessibility of the registration portal, which hindered and eventually stopped many eligible voters from completing their registration last time.
“It is not just to start the CVR, but when you go to the INEC site you would spend days trying to register, it is burns once data and can be frustrating. I had that experience last time”, Babatunde Oki, a lawyer, said.
“Many people where frustrated and left in 2022. The commission must deal with this logistic challenges seen last time, if it is to be taken serious”, he added.
The lawyer, however encouraged Nigerians to be optimistic and register to get their PVC’s, noting that the process for Nigeria to get good and responsive leaders in 2027 had just begun.
Similarly, Lawal Okunade, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), expressed optimism that INEC had learnt its lessons in last exercise, saying he expects INEC to conduct a credible and hitch-free CVR exercise across the Country.
The politician told BusinessDay that INEC should engage in enlightenment campaign to inform Nigerians about the commencement of the exercise, noting that the party would be watching the process closely.
“It is good they are starting early, but I hope they have put their house in order, because of the rush that we may see online.
Many people did not find it funny last time, their site, is slow to access and they don’t enough machines at the registration point in my area. But many people are not aware now, there is need for campaign to educate people of the CVR commencement in the media”, Okunade said.
Many others who spoke, said they would register on time to advoid the rush that often come with late registration. Others Nigerians said they are unmoved about the commencement of the CVR exercise. They, lamented that their votes in the 2023 General Elections did not count.
There were those who said their major concern was overcoming the high cost of living and economic hardship occasioned by the reforms undertaken by President Bola Tinubu.
“I don’t think I’m interested in such thing for now, let them go and do it, the one we voted for in 2023, you can see how we can’t survive again”, Idris Abba, a tailor, said.
But, in a post on X effected on Monday, the Commission encouraged eligible Nigerians to start their registration through the www.cvr.inecnigeria.org platform.
It said that the prospective voters would be able to pre-register and schedule an in-person voting session.
“Qualified Nigerians, especially first-time voters, will be able to fill in their personal details such as names, dates of birth, residential addresses and preferred polling units.
“Applicants can also use the portal to request transfers of their voting locations, replacement of lost or damaged permanent voter cards (PVCs), or corrections of personal information.
“In-person registration starts August 25, 2025, at all its 37 state offices and 774 local government area (LGA) offices nearest to you,” INEC said.
The in-person registration will later be devolved to other designated registration centres across the country based on an assessment of the CVR exercise and security situation, and other factors relating to the safety of personnel and materials.