Other odd locations where the Nigerian election body removed polling units include mosques and churches across the country.

INEC says it removed the polling units due to “distance, difficult terrain, congestion, communal conflict, new settlements and general insecurity.”

Inec is introducing reforms into the commission ahead of the 2023 general election and future elections – creation of new polling units is one of the reforms.

National Chairman of Inec, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu revealed this during the announcement of new 56,872 polling units.

According to Yakubu in the meeting he held with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja ahead of the restart of Nationwide Continuous voter registration exercise, “we convert 56,872 Voting Points and Voting Point Settlements and added to the existing 119,974 Polling Units.

“Consequently, the Commission is glad to report that 25 years since the creation of the current Polling Units in 1996, Nigeria now has 176,846 full-fledged Polling Units.

“Similarly, after consultation with stakeholders, the Commission has successfully removed 749 Polling Units from inappropriate locations to appropriate public facilities or open spaces.

“Of this figure we removed 232 from private properties, 145 royal palaces, 6 Mosques, 21 Churches and 9 Shrines. We relocated the remaining 336 Polling Units for various reasons including distance, difficult terrain, congestion, communal conflict, new settlements and general insecurity.”

Inec fixes dates for Ekiti, Osun governorship elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission also announced dates to conduct governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States.

Inec Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu says the early announcement of the date is to enable every body start preparation early.

“In keeping with our policy of announcing the dates of elections in advance to enable early and effective preparations by all concerned, the Commission has approved the Ekiti State Governorship election to hold on Saturday, June 18, 2022, while the Osun State Governorship election will hold one month later on Saturday, July 16, 2022,” Mahmood said.

The Inec boss also said the commission has began implementing activities lined up for the Anambra State Governorship election which will take place later in November this year.

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Nigeria’s general election is still two years away in 2023 but the country’s election office has began preparation for it already.

From Monday 28 June, 2021, the Independent National Electoral Commission says it will restart Continuous voter registration exercise nationwide (CVR).

This is an opportunity for previously unregistered persons to get their voter’s card so they can participate in any elections.

INEC has laid out guidelines to help people understand how this new registration process will work especially for those that their PVC has damaged, stolen or want to change their biodata.

How does one register for INEC PVC?

The Resident Electoral Commissioner INEC Rivers State, Obo Effanga says INEC has two ways through which citizens can register: online registration and in-person registration.

Online registration: eligible citizens can log on to INEC online registration portal to fill in all their details and print out the slip.

Those who want to change their pollen units or do any corrections to their names or other details can also correct it on the online registration portal.

With the online portal, voters can also apply to replace their lost or damaged permanent voters cards.

In-person registration: After filling out their details and corrections on the online registration portal, voters are to proceed to INEC offices in the local government areas nearest to them or any designated centres provided by INEC with their printout slip for biometric capture and to get their temporary voter cards.

Obo Effanga also warns voters against double registration as the system will detect such registration and cancel it.

Those eligible to register/participate in the CVR?

• Nigerians who have attained the age of 18 years and have never been registered to vote;
• Any registered voter who has experienced any difficulty during accreditation in previous elections;
• Registered voters who wish to change their voting locations;
• Registered voters whose Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) are lost, defaced or damaged; and
• Registered voters who wish to correct their information such as their names, dates of birth, etc.

The post PVC registration: How to register during INEC Continuous Voter Registration in Nigeria appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.