By Nkechi Eze
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the resumption of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise nationwide, starting with online pre-registration on Monday, 18th August 2025. This will be followed by in-person registration on Monday, 25th August, with both processes scheduled to run concurrently until 30th August 2026.
This was disclosed in an official statement issued on Thursday, 7th August, by the National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, following the Commission’s regular weekly meeting in Abuja. He stated that preparations for the CVR exercise are progressing steadily, with major logistics and public information measures already put in place to ensure a seamless registration process for eligible citizens.
According to the Commission, the CVR will be conducted across 811 registration centres, comprising INEC’s 774 Local Government offices and 37 State and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) offices nationwide. The registration exercise will be open from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding national public holidays.
To aid citizens in locating their nearest registration centres, INEC has introduced a new online CVR Live Locator, which will go live on Sunday, 17th August 2025, a day before the commencement of the exercise. The locator tool can be accessed via https://cvr.inecnigeria.org/locator.
In addition, the Commission has uploaded a comprehensive 38-page document on its website and social media platforms, listing the addresses of all 811 in-person registration centres across the country. To further enhance access to information and assistance, each State of the Federation now has a dedicated Help Desk line, which citizens can call for clarifications or inquiries relating to the registration process.
Olumekun assured the public that the registration procedure remains the same as that used in the previous 2022 CVR exercise. Detailed guidance on the process, including explanatory video clips, will be released by the Commission next week to ensure registrants are well-informed ahead of the exercise.
On the issue of political party registration, INEC confirmed that it has continued to receive fresh expressions of interest from associations seeking recognition as political parties. Since the last update on 23rd July 2025, the Commission has received eight additional letters of intent, bringing the total number of applications to 151.
Details of the latest submissions including the proposed names, acronyms, logos, addresses, and interim leadership structures of the applicant associations, have been published on the Commission’s website and other digital platforms.
The Commission further disclosed that it has now activated its dedicated portal for political party registration and has commenced the shortlisting of associations that meet the constitutional and legal requirements to proceed to the next stage of the application process. A full update on the status of the applications will be released after the conduct of the 16 bye-elections scheduled for Saturday, 16th August 2025, in 12 states.
INEC reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, inclusiveness, and public engagement in all its operations. “Once again, we reassure Nigerians that the Commission shall continue to keep citizens informed on all its activities,” the statement concluded.
