The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially ended the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, insisting that the process closes on Sunday despite growing calls from opposition political parties for an extension.
INEC maintained that the registration exercise would end as scheduled, urging eligible Nigerians who had yet to complete the process to take advantage of the final hours before the deadline. The commission said the timetable was carefully planned and would not be altered.
Several opposition parties, however, appealed to the electoral body to extend the exercise, arguing that millions of eligible voters could be disenfranchised because of long queues, technical challenges and limited access to registration centres in many parts of the country.
The parties said many Nigerians, particularly young people and first-time voters, had been unable to register despite making repeated attempts before the closing date.
They warned that ending the exercise without an extension could deny many citizens the opportunity to participate in the 2027 general elections and called on INEC to reconsider its position.
INEC, however, reiterated that prospective voters could either complete their registration online through its dedicated portal or visit designated registration centres for biometric capture before the exercise officially closed.
The commission also urged Nigerians to ignore rumours suggesting that the registration deadline would be extended, insisting that no such decision had been taken.
The voter registration exercise attracted millions of Nigerians across the country, with registration centres recording increased turnout in the final days of the exercise as citizens rushed to beat the deadline.