1. Following consultations with political parties, civil society organizations and the media, the commission convened a special meeting today with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and Administrative Secretaries (ASs) from the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to finalise its preparations for the commencement of the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. Specifically, the meeting considered the methodology, modalities and effective date for the commencement of the exercise nationwide.

2. Arising from the meeting, the Commission has decided as follows:
3. That the nationwide CVR shall commence on Thursday 27th April 2017 in each of the 774 Local Government Areas of the federation;
4. The exercise shall take place on weekdays (Monday-Friday) from 9.00am to 3.00pm excluding public holidays;
5. The exercise is intended to:

1. Enable citizens who have turned 18 years of age since the last

registration as well as those who did not register during the last

exercise to register as voters;

1. Allow those seeking transfer of their registration from one state

to another or within a State from polling unit to another to do so;

iii.    Distribute uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to those who could not collect them before or since the last General Elections;

1. Enable citizens who have the Temporary Voter Cards (TVCs) but whose names are on the register to collect their PVCs.
2. The Registration Centres shall be the Local Government offices of the Commission or such other suitable locations as will be made public by the State Offices of INEC.
3. The Commission advises those who are already registered not to do so again as it is an offence to register more than once.
4. The Commission wishes to reiterate its commitment to consolidating our democracy by ensuring that citizens are given the opportunity to register as voters on a continuous basis as enshrined in the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) well before elections.

6. We appeal to all citizens to cooperate with the Commission to ensure the success of the exercise.

Amina Bala Zakari

National Commissioner and Ag. Chairman, Information and Voter

Education Committee.