Abuja – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it will suspend the Continuos Voter Registration (CVR) exercise on July 31.
A statement signed by the commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Voter Education and Publicity Committee, Festus Okoye confirmed the development.
He said the decision was taken by the commission on July 15.
Okoye aid the decision will allow INEC to focus on preparations for the 2023 elections.
He explained that the commission had in line with a court ruling extended the exercise which was supposed to have ended on June 30 by a month.
“The Court has affirmed that INEC is at liberty to appoint a date of its choice to suspend the CVR, provided it is not later than 90 days before the date fixed for the General Election as provided in Sec. 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022,” he said.
He said the exercise has also been extended to eight hours daily from 9.00am – 5.00pm instead of the current duration of six hours (9.00am – 3.00pm) daily; and
“The exercise is also extended to include weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) as against only weekdays,” Okoye said.
While urging prospective voters to take advantage of the extension, he said the CVR will resume after the 2023 general elections.
