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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would begin a nationwide continuous voters’ registration exercise on Thursday, April 27, 2017.
The exercise is intended to enable citizens that have turned 18 years of age since the last registration, as well as those who did not register during the last exercise to register. The exercise would take place on weekdays (Monday-Friday) from 9.am to 3pm excluding public holidays.
National Commissioner and Acting Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mrs Amina Zakari, who made this known yesterday, said the decision was taken at a special meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners, and Administrative Secretaries from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Zakari said the meeting focused on the methodology, modalities, and the date for the commencement of the nationwide exercise, adding that the exercise is programmed to take off in all the 774 local government areas of the country.
While urging citizens who registered but could not collect their permanent voter card before the last general elections of 2015 to avail themselves of the opportunity to collect them, Zakari said citizens, whose names were captured in the voters register but were given temporary voter card would be given the opportunity to collect the permanent voter card.
She said that registration centres would be opened in all the local government offices of the commission or other locations considered suitable by the commission and advised Nigerians, who had registered before not to do so as it was an offence for any citizen to be involved in double registration.
Meanwhile, the commission is expected to commence the exercise with only three Resident Electoral Commissioners as the Senate is yet to confirm the list of 27 RECs forwarded to it for confirmation by the President.