The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to further extend the deadline for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
In a statement issued on Thursday, ahead of the July 26 deadline, Obi urged the electoral commission to keep the registration exercise open until the latest practicable date that would still allow sufficient time to prepare a credible voters’ register for the 2027 general election.
INEC resumed the second phase of the nationwide CVR exercise in January 2026 after concluding the first phase on December 10, 2025. The commission had earlier extended the exercise from July 10 to July 26 following feedback from political parties, civil society organisations, state offices and other stakeholders.
Obi argued that many Nigerians attain the age of 18 every day and should not lose the opportunity to register and vote because the registration process closes long before the elections.
“Every day, more young Nigerians attain the age of 18 and become constitutionally eligible to vote. They are not just our future; they are stakeholders in our present,” he said.
“It would be unfortunate if many of them were denied the opportunity to exercise their civic responsibility simply because the registration process closed long before the elections.”
The former Anambra State governor also referenced a Federal High Court judgment delivered on November 22, 2022, in Anaja Salmat & 3 Others v. INEC (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1342/2022), which held that voter registration should continue until 90 days before a general election to safeguard the constitutional voting rights of eligible Nigerians.
While acknowledging INEC’s responsibility to conduct free, fair and credible elections, Obi stressed that the electoral process should encourage wider participation rather than restrict it.
“Our electoral process should, as much as possible, maximise participation rather than limit it. A democracy is strengthened when every eligible citizen has the opportunity to be heard,” he said.
He urged the commission to adopt a registration timeline that preserves the integrity of the electoral process while ensuring that no eligible Nigerian is unnecessarily disenfranchised.
