The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Lagos State, on Tuesday said it had registered 319,106 new eligible voters in the ongoing Continuous Voters Registraton (CVR) exercise.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mr Sam Olumekun, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Olumekun said over 21,991 Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) were distributed during the first quarter of the CVR exercise in 2018.
The REC added that 27, 103 transfer cases were attended to and 43, 116 cards were replaced in the state since the exercise started in 2017.
Olumekun, who expressed satisfaction with the exercise in the state, urged all eligible voters who had yet to register, to use this opportunity by visiting any of the 55 CVR centers in the state.
“Those who have registered before but just moved to Lagos State need not register again.
“All they need to do is to visit the registration centers close to their places of abode, where they will be given a form to fill and have their PVC transferred to a polling unit in Lagos State.
“The same process applied to those resident in Lagos, who have registered before and moved to other parts of the state,” he said.
The REC, who said there was improvement in the collection of the yet-to-be-claimed PVCs in the state, advised others to come out and collect theirs.
He, however, urged new registrants in the first quarter of the exercise in 2018 to make effective use of the period set aside for claims and objections from March 26 to March 30.
According to him, the period allows the news registrants to check for the correctness of their details, before their PVCs are printed.
He said that the second quarter of the CVR exercise would commence on April 3.
Olumekun also urged all stakeholders to join hands with the commission in educating and sensitising the people on the need to participate in the ongoing CVR exercise, to afford them the opportunity to vote in the 2019 General Elections.
“The sensitisation, mobilisation and education is not the business of INEC alone.
“It is also the business of every interest group to ensure that people come out and perform their civic responsibilities,’’ he added.
NAN reports that the commission on Feb. 13 put the total number of new registrants at 231, 435 since the inception of the exercise on April 27, 2017. (NAN)