The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced a 50-day Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise across the 329 wards in Akwa Ibom State.
The ward-level registration, which began on Monday, is aimed at taking voter enrolment closer to the grassroots. This was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday in Uyo by the INEC Head of Department, Voter Education and Publicity, Bukola Ojeme.
Ojeme explained that eligible citizens can now register at designated INEC Ward Collation Centres in all 329 wards, with two wards in each local government area attended to daily throughout the 50-day period.
According to him, while the exercise is ongoing at the ward level, only INEC’s state headquarters registration centre will remain operational, as registration activities at the 31 local government area offices have been temporarily suspended.
“The state registration centre will continue to operate, but local government registration centres will move to the wards, covering two wards daily. After 50 days, registration will return to the local government offices for the remaining days of this phase,” Ojeme said.
He added that the INEC Voter Enrolment Devices (IVEDs) allocated to each local government would be rotated among the wards to ensure complete coverage, stressing that no ward would be excluded from the exercise.
Ojeme further warned that only approved Ward Collation Centres would be used, noting that the commission would not tolerate registration at unauthorised locations.
To promote transparency, he revealed that INEC had approved a rotation timetable for the IVEDs and directed Electoral Officers to publicise it widely across stakeholder platforms to enable citizens to monitor compliance and report any infractions.
He urged eligible residents, particularly those in rural areas, to take advantage of the opportunity to register during the exercise.
The ward-level registration follows INEC’s resumption of the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which took effect on Monday.
Elijah Adeyemi
