2015: INEC begins fresh voter registration in Lagos, six others Wednesday

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Wednesday commence the continuous Voter Registration ((CVR) exercise in seven states of the Federation.

The exercise which will last till November 17 will hold in Kano, Edo, Plateau, Ogun, Imo, Lagos and Adamawa.

INEC said the exercise is for eligible persons presently not on the biometric register.

The commission therefore advised electorates to check their names first before participating in the exercise in order to avoid double registration.

INEC in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr. kayode Idowu,  enjoined residents of the affected states who are yet to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to first check  the Register and ascertain whether or not they are already on it.

INEC explained that those whose names are on the Register but are yet to collect their PVC need not present themselves for CVR.

“The way to check if they are on the Register of Voters is simply to send an SMS to dedicated lines with the following information: Name of state, surname, the last five or six digits of the VIN (i.e., Voter Identification Number) on their Temporary Voter Card (for example: Lagos, Salama, 06782: please ensure the coma in-between) and send to 08171646879.

Alternatively, someone doing the checking could preface the short message with INEC (e.g.: INEC, Lagos, Salama, 06782) and send to 20120.

“The interrogator will get an instant response giving his / her full profile on the Register and the polling unit number if the person is actually on the Register; or an advise to the contrary if the person is not.

“If a person is on the Register and has not been able to obtain his / her PVC, he / she should go to the relevant local government office of INEC where distribution of the cards will continue daily till the end of January 2015. For avoidance of doubt, only those who the SMS service shows are not on the Register need to present themselves for CVR, in addition to persons who are registering for the first time ever. If only the people who genuinely need to register present themselves for CVR, the exercise will be efficient and far-reaching.

“It should be noted, however, that the SMS facility is also available for people who want to check the Register of Voters from every other state of the Federation,” the commission explained.