The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said there was no going back on its June 30 deadline for registration of voters.
This is as it has tasked Nigerian youths to translate their social media revolution into active participation in politics, especially going out to vote during elections.
INEC Resident Electoral commissioner (REC) for Abuja, Yahaya Bello, spoke during Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) campaign organised by INEC in conjunction with the European Union (EU) in Abuja, yesterday.
“Ending the registration exercise on June 30 will help us commence the process of printing the PVCs which the owners will continue to collect till early next year,” he said.
Bello said more than 50 registration machines and 150 staff have been deployed for the exercise explaining that CVR exercise was ongoing simultaneously in the remaining five Area Councils in the territory.
He said the concert was a special programme in conjunction with the European Union to further sensitise the people.
INEC Director, Voter Education and Publicity (VEP), Ayodele Aluko, threw the challenge on youths to go out and vote lamenting that despite making up 51 per cent of the over 84 million registered voters in the 2019 general elections, less than that number would eventually vote.
EU representative at the event, Omowuni Laolu, regretted that the high number of youths in the country does not translate to effective participation in elections.
He said EU’s involvement in the exercise was to connect the youths with the nation’s elector process.