Politics
Allow 7m Nigerians to complete voter registration or face legal action, SERAP tells INEC
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to “immediately give seven million Nigerians who have carried out their voter registration online the time and opportunity to complete the process, so that they can obtain their permanent voter cards (PVCs), and exercise their right to vote.”
INEC recently disclosed that out of 10,487,972 Nigerians who carried out their pre-registration online, only 3,444,378 completed the process at a physical centre. This represents just 32.8 percent of completed online registration.
In the letter dated 13 August 2022 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “The right to vote is not merely the right to cast a ballot but also the right to be given the time and opportunity to complete the registration process, so that the right can be meaningfully and effectively exercised.”
SERAP said, “Closing the gates on eligible Nigerians and denying them the time and opportunity to complete their registration cannot preserve trust in the electoral process.”
According to SERAP, “Denying a significant number of eligible voters the time and opportunity to complete the registration for their PVCs would impair the right to vote of those affected, deny them a voice in the 2023 elections, and lead to disparate and unfair treatment of these voters.”
The letter, read in part, “The failure of the applicants to complete their registration may be due to factors entirely outside of their control, especially given the well-documented challenges faced by many Nigerians at registration centres across the country.”
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP and the affected Nigerians shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel INEC to comply with our request in the public interest.”
“Unless they are given a reasonable time and opportunity to complete the registration process, and to obtain their voter cards, these eligible Nigerians will not be able to vote in the 2023 general elections.”
“If citizens’ chance to vote is denied, that would amount to violation of their fundamental right to vote, just as it would be if they were prevented from casting any vote at all.”
“The alleged failure of the applicants to complete their registration at INEC designated centres are not sufficiently weighty to justify their exclusion from the 2023 general elections.”
“Any proffered justifications of saving time and cost are therefore wholly insufficient. Administrative convenience is simply not a compelling justification in light of the fundamental nature of the right to vote.”
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“This severe vote deprivation cannot be justified by any perceived considerations of saving time, especially because Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that ‘the registration of voters, updating and revision of the Register of Voters shall not stop not later than 90 days before any election covered by this Act.’”
“Providing fresh opportunity for the over seven million Nigerians to complete their registration would promote and preserve the right to vote, and ensure that legal and eligible voters are not inadvertently and unjustifiably turned away from exercising their fundamental right to vote.”
“By refusing the over seven million Nigerians the opportunity to complete the registration for their PVCs, INEC have unfairly, unreasonably, and unjustifiably denied them the opportunity to be heard at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner as to the reasons for not completing their registration.”
“Voter distrust is apparent in virtually empty polling places on election days. Nigeria historically has had low levels of voter turnout.”
“Allowing eligible Nigerians to complete their registration would improve citizens’ participation in the electoral process, and public confidence in the electoral system, as well as the ability of INEC to discharge its constitutional and statutory responsibility fairly, justly, and reasonably.”
“The Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) provides in Section 14(1)(c) that, ‘the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.’”
“Similarly, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance guarantee the right to political participation, including the right to vote.”
“According to our information, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), recently disclosed that over seven million Nigerians who carried out their voter pre-registration online could not complete the process at physical centres.”
“According to a report released by INEC, out of 10,487,972 Nigerians who carried out their pre-registration online, only 3,444,378 Nigerians representing 32.8 percent, completed the process at a physical centre. 7,043,594 Nigerians carried out their pre-registration but are yet to complete the process at a physical centre.”
“This represents over 67 percent of those who began their registration process online.”
“According to INEC, a total of 12,298,944 Nigerians completed their voter registration; 8,854,566 of which were persons who did their registration entirely at a physical centre.”
“The over seven million Nigerians have already completed their registration online, that is, via the INEC online portal by providing their biodata and required documents.”
“According to the INEC process, what is outstanding for the applicants to complete the registration for their PVCs is to visit INEC designated centres for their biometric to be captured.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed Saturday, September 19, 2026, for by-elections to fill five vacant legislative seats across Gombe, Kano, Bauchi and Delta states.
INEC announced the date on Friday, saying voting would take place at polling units within the affected constituencies.
According to the commission, polling will open at 8:30am and close at 2:30pm on election day.
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The affected constituencies are the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency in Gombe State; Dawakin Kudu State Constituency in Kano; Sakwa and Disina State Constituencies in Bauchi; and Udu State Constituency in Delta.
The five vacancies emerged under different circumstances.
In Gombe, the federal constituency seat became vacant following the death of its representative, Yaya Bauchi Tongo, who died in June 2026.
In Bauchi, the Sakwa seat became vacant following the death of its former occupant, while the lawmaker representing Disina resigned from the State House of Assembly to contest a chairmanship position.
The Udu constituency seat in Delta became vacant after its former representative, Collins Egbetamah, defected from the All Progressives Congress to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, prompting the state legislature to declare the seat vacant.
In Kano, the Dawakin Kudu State Constituency seat became vacant after its former representative, Rabiu Shuaibu, left the State Assembly to contest the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency election.
Shuaibu subsequently won the federal constituency by-election conducted in June, leaving his former state assembly seat vacant.
The September 19 exercise will therefore determine new representatives for the five constituencies.
The elections will also attract political attention as parties and candidates seek to consolidate their positions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has revealed that he would retain President Bola Tinubu’s floating exchange-rate policy if elected president.
Obi, however, said his administration would focus on increasing productivity and domestic production to strengthen the value of the naira and improve the purchasing power of Nigerians.
The presidential hopeful made this known during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday, when he was asked to identify a policy of the Tinubu administration that he would retain if elected in 2027.
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“There’s one – the floating of the Naira. I’m not going to defend it. But I’m going to put productivity to make it more valuable to the people,” Obi said.
Tinubu’s administration introduced the naira float in June 2023 as part of its broader economic reforms aimed at unifying Nigeria’s foreign exchange market and allowing market forces to play a greater role in determining the value of the currency.
The Central Bank of Nigeria subsequently removed restrictions around the Investors and Exporters foreign exchange window, effectively ending the previous multiple-exchange-rate system.
The reform, however, was followed by a sharp depreciation of the naira.
The currency, which had traded below N500 to the dollar around the time the reforms began, subsequently moved above N1,000/$ and later crossed N1,500/$ at various points.
While supporters of the foreign exchange reform have argued that it was necessary to eliminate distortions, improve transparency and attract investment, the policy has remained one of the most debated aspects of Tinubu’s economic programme.
Obi’s latest position indicates that he would not seek to reverse the floating exchange-rate framework if elected.
Instead, he said his focus would be on improving the productive capacity of the Nigerian economy.
The former governor has repeatedly called for Nigeria to move away from what he describes as a consumption-driven economy towards one centred on production, exports, investment and job creation.
According to Obi, increased productivity would help create stronger economic fundamentals and ultimately make the naira more valuable to Nigerians.
Beyond the economy, Obi also cautioned Nigerians against allowing ethnic considerations to determine their choices in the 2027 presidential election.
“Our election should not be driven by tribalism,” he said.
Obi contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party and is now seeking the presidency in 2027 under the National Democratic Congress.
With the 2027 election drawing closer, economic issues are expected to remain central to the presidential contest, particularly the cost of living, inflation, unemployment, exchange-rate stability and the strength of the naira.
Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has revealed a new strategy his team plans to deploy to independently monitor election results from polling units during the 2027 general elections.
Obi, who was the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, disclosed the plan during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday.
The former Anambra State governor said his team would establish a system through which results recorded at polling units could be transmitted directly to its own situation room for monitoring and verification.
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According to him, the proposed arrangement would operate alongside the official result-transmission process of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Obi said the objective was to ensure that votes were properly counted, recorded and transmitted from every polling unit.
He explained that his team was planning what he described as a “dual transmission” system, whereby results would be sent to the designated INEC platform while simultaneously being transmitted to his team’s monitoring centre.
“We must make sure that at every polling unit, the votes are counted, the votes are recorded properly, the votes are transmitted properly,” Obi said.
He added, “We will have even a dual transmission so that as it’s going to the proper designated INEC portal, it’s also being transmitted where the people can see it.”
Obi was subsequently asked whether the plan amounted to establishing a parallel result-transmission system.
The NDC candidate rejected that interpretation, explaining that his proposal was intended to provide an additional mechanism for independently monitoring results rather than replacing INEC’s official system.
“All we are saying is that this time around, we will make sure that in every polling unit, we must have a system that transmits to our own situation room the correct results,” he stated.
Obi further said other organisations could establish similar monitoring systems, arguing that such independent monitoring would make it harder for results that did not originate from polling units to be announced as genuine election results.
“And I’m sure there are so many other agencies that intend to do the same thing. So we’re not going to have a situation where somebody pronounces something that didn’t emanate from the polling unit. Our task is to make sure that the right things are done,” he said.
The former Anambra governor also maintained that Nigeria could conduct transparent elections, citing Ghana and other countries as examples of places where electoral processes could provide useful lessons.
On the broader 2027 political contest, Obi framed the election as a contest involving Nigerians and the government, rather than one centred solely on political parties.
His disclosure comes as political preparations for the 2027 general elections continue to intensify, with political parties and major contenders positioning themselves ahead of the presidential and other elections.
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