The Executive Director of the Centre for Responsive Governance, Ayodeji Ologun, has criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the conclusion of the 2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, insisting that the commission’s approach contradicts both the spirit and meaning of “continuous” registration.
Speaking on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, shortly after INEC officially closed the nationwide registration exercise on Sunday, July 26, 2026, Ologun described the process as outdated and called for comprehensive reforms that would allow Nigerians to register to vote at any time of the year.
According to him, placing a deadline on an exercise described as “continuous” is both misleading and legally questionable.
“It is illegal. It is unfair that you call something Continuous Voter Registration and then you put a peg on it and say it has closed. What justifies the grammatical use of the word ‘continuous’ if citizens cannot register all year round?” he queried.
INEC had earlier extended the registration exercise by two weeks, shifting the deadline from July 10 to July 26, following public pressure, a surge in last-minute applications and appeals from civil society organisations seeking more time for eligible Nigerians to register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
However, after the expiration of the extension, the electoral commission firmly ruled out any further extension, citing provisions of Section 17 of the Electoral Act 2022, which require voter registration to end at least 90 days before a general election. INEC explained that the closure was necessary to clean the voters’ register, eliminate duplicate entries and prepare Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for distribution.
But Ologun argued that the explanation only exposed fundamental weaknesses in Nigeria’s electoral administration.
“We are living an archaic system in Nigeria. Voter registration should never have an opening or closing date. The only reason INEC shuts it down is because the same officials handling registration are also expected to conduct elections,” he said.
He advocated a technology-driven registration system similar to Nigeria’s digital passport application process, where citizens who attain the voting age of 18 can register online from anywhere without waiting for periodic exercises.
“Once you turn 18, you should simply log on to the INEC portal, upload your information, complete your registration, indicate where you want to collect your PVC—or even have it delivered to your residence. That is the direction modern democracies are moving towards,” he said.
The governance advocate also called for greater integration between the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) database and INEC, arguing that citizens should not be required to submit the same information repeatedly to different government agencies.
“One national database should serve multiple government services. That is the whole idea behind data integration,” he added.
Although the 2026 registration exercise lasted almost one year—from August 2025 to July 2026—making it the longest Continuous Voter Registration exercise since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, Ologun maintained that it failed to achieve its core objective.
“Was it able to achieve the desired objective? The answer is a capital No,” he declared.
According to him, the repeated extensions granted by INEC reflected widespread voter apathy rather than increased public confidence in the electoral process.
“Nigerians are becoming increasingly reluctant to participate. The growing voter apathy we’re witnessing means that eventually only a minority will determine who governs the majority, and that is dangerous for democracy,” he warned.
Ologun argued that Nigeria should be more concerned about actual voter turnout than registration figures, stressing that millions of registered voters consistently fail to cast their ballots on election day.
“We have over 80 million Nigerians qualified to vote, yet fewer than 45 million are registered. Even among those registered, less than half eventually vote. That should worry every democrat,” he said.
He attributed the low participation rate to several factors, including insecurity, delays in PVC distribution, population mobility, and the difficulties faced by students who register while in tertiary institutions but later relocate without collecting their voter cards.
Using Osun State as an example, he recalled reports that gunmen attacked a PVC collection centre shortly after distribution commenced, raising fresh concerns about the security of electoral materials.
“Before the distribution exercise, many residents complained about delays in collecting their PVCs. Then shortly after distribution began, gunmen reportedly attacked a collection centre in Oru Local Government Area and carted away uncollected PVCs. INEC must now explain how those stolen cards will be rendered useless before the elections,” he stated.
Ologun concluded that genuine electoral reform must move beyond periodic registration exercises to embrace continuous digital registration, seamless PVC collection, improved data management and stronger measures to encourage citizens to participate in elections.
“The success of any electoral process should not be measured by how many people register. It should be measured by how many actually vote and have confidence that their votes will count,” he said.
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