4th November, 2020
By Nimot Adetola Sulaimon
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise will commence in the first quarter of 2021 ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the electoral body announced on Wednesday during a budget defence session with the Senate Committee in Abuja.
Yakubu also said that the sum of N1billion has also been earmarked for the exercise.
He added that he is in support of diaspora voting and called on the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act to accommodate diaspora and early voting.
“We will resume voter registration in the first quarter of 2021. And once we resume, it will be continuous for one and half years, at least until six months to the next general election.
“We have already worked out the document, once the law is amended, we can roll out.
“We are ready, we have had several meetings with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) but we can’t go beyond what the law provides,” he said.
He also revealed that the commission is currently involved in about 1,700 pre-election and post-election court cases from 2019 general elections.
However, Yakubu mentioned that the Commission is not paying huge legal fees but applying Federal Ministry of Justice scale of fees.
“For instance, if we have a case for governorship election before the Supreme Court, it is a maximum of N4.5 million, but because of the number of cases, we are almost getting close to 1,700 pre-election and post-election cases in 2019 alone.
“Every day you hear people going to court and joining INEC, but we will continue to do what we can within available resources,” he said.