Students and other young Nigerians between 18 and 34 have dominated the ongoing Voter Registration, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed.

INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu said 8,260,076 eligible Nigerians have completed the online and physical registration.

According to the INEC Chairman, who gave the hint during the first quarterly meeting with media organisations in Abuja, “the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) which commenced in June last year has entered the third quarter. As at Monday 17th January 2022, a total of 8,260,076 eligible Nigerians commenced the online pre-registration; completed the registration physically; applied for transfer to new voting locations; requested for replacement of their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs); and updated their voter information records.

“Since the exercise commenced in June last year, the commission has so far published 36 weekly reports which show a consistent pattern of young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 34 constituting the largest majority of registrants. In terms of occupation, students constitute the largest majority of registrants which is consistent with the dominance of young Nigerians as voters,” he said.

He stressed further that “some of the critical preparations for the 2023 General Election must be concluded this year. Related to the issue of voter registration is the issuance of PVCs. We are aware that Nigerians want to know when their PVCs will be available for collection.

“At the same time, we want you to continue to sensitise them that those who had registered at any time previously need not register again. For those who have completed the registration, the Commission is right now undertaking the most comprehensive cleaning up of the data to ensure that only eligible citizens are added to the voters’ register for the 2023 General Election.

“We will share our findings with Nigerians very soon. The actual dates for the collection of the PVCs nationwide will also be announced very soon,” he added.

(The Nation)

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