As the 2027 general elections approach, residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) seeking to register for Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have expressed frustration over long waiting hours, overcrowding, and inadequate registration facilities at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in Abuja.
A visit by The Guardian to the FCT headquarters of INEC at No. 10 Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Area 10, on Wednesday revealed scores of prospective voters gathered both within and outside the premises. Many of them said they arrived as early as 7 a.m. but had yet to be attended to several hours later.
The development comes as INEC continues the third and final phase of the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which commenced on May 11 and is expected to end on July 10, 2026.
Prospective Voters Voice Concerns
Among those waiting at the centre was a serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who said she had registered as a voter in 2022 but could no longer find her details in the voter database.
“I registered in 2022, but when I checked, I couldn’t find my details again. I came here to confirm whether I need to do another registration or not. I have been here since morning, but nobody has attended to me,” she said.
Another prospective voter who simply identified himself as Jerry expressed frustration over the pace of the exercise, saying the commission needed to improve its data management and registration process. He stated: “I have been here since 7 a.m. The staff are around, but the system is very slow. INEC should have a better way of managing data and capturing voters because, as it is now, many people may not be able to get their PVCs before the deadline.”
A third resident, who requested anonymity, alleged that he had visited the office repeatedly without success. “I have been coming here for about two weeks and I have not been attended to. The crowd is much and sometimes they just tell us to go and come back without any clear explanation,” he lamented.
Many of the prospective voters observed by The Guardian had arrived early to secure positions on a handwritten attendance list while hoping to improve their chances of being captured before the close of business.
INEC Official Blames Last-Minute Rush
An INEC official who declined to be named blamed the surge in turnout on the tendency of Nigerians to wait until the final stages of registration before showing up.
“When the exercise started, people were not coming. We were looking for people to register and you would hardly see anyone. Now that the deadline is approaching, everybody wants to register at the same time,” the official said.
Similar Situation in Bwari
A similar situation was observed at the INEC office in Bwari, located adjacent to the Primary Healthcare Centre, Bwari. Although the turnout was significantly lower than that of the Area 10 headquarters, prospective voters also complained about the slow pace of registration.
One of the prospective voters, Abdullahi Yunusa, told The Guardian that he had been visiting the centre for about a week without successfully completing his registration.
“I have been coming here for one week, but I have not been able to register. They told me I don’t come early but will I leave my business and come here to stay? Sometimes the officials themselves come late, and the process is very slow. I am worried that if this continues, I may not be able to register before the deadline,” he said.
However, another resident, James Jatau, who successfully completed his registration, described the process as straightforward once he was attended to. Jatau said although he was aware of INEC’s online pre-registration platform, he was unable to navigate the process on his own and had to seek assistance at the registration centre.
“I knew about the online registration, but I could not do it myself. When I came here, the officials helped me with the process. I arrived very early and wrote my name on the list. Luckily, I was called and attended to. Once it was my turn, the registration process was simple,” he said.
INEC Responds to Complaints
Responding to the complaints, the FCT INEC Administrative Secretary, Abimbola Oladunjoye, acknowledged that the commission experienced network challenges last week but said the problem had been resolved.
According to her, the commission had already registered thousands of voters in the FCT since the commencement of the current phase. “We have been on this exercise since early last month and this is the third and final phase of the nationwide voter registration. The commission is expected to conclude the exercise by July 10.
“I agree that at a point last week we had some network challenges, but the issues have been resolved. Since we resumed on Monday, I don’t think we have had any network problem affecting the system,” she added.
Oladunjoye explained that the Area 10 office was only one of several registration centres available to residents across the FCT, noting that registration centres also exist in all six area councils.
“The challenge is that because this centre is located in the city, more people prefer coming here. We have centres in every area council, but some of them record very low turnout compared to what we have here in Area 10,” she said.
She disclosed that the commission was exploring measures to ease congestion at the centre, including the possibility of deploying additional devices and establishing a larger registration facility before the exercise ends.
Measures to Improve Service
On allegations that officials were turning people away from the premises, Oladunjoye said the measure was necessary to maintain order whenever the crowd became unmanageable.
“Sometimes when the number of people inside the premises becomes too much, we have to regulate entry. Even if we work from morning till evening, there are days we cannot attend to everybody. People become agitated and sometimes security personnel have to intervene. That is why we occasionally control the number of people allowed into the premises,” she explained.
She also urged residents seeking transfers, replacement of PVCs or correction of personal details to utilise the commission’s online self-service portal instead of physically visiting registration centres.
“If you are requesting a transfer, replacement of a lost PVC or correction of your details, you can do that online. The only category that must come physically for biometric capture is fresh registration. Many people who come here actually do not need to be here,” she said.
Oladunjoye revealed that INEC operates mobile registration teams across communities within the FCT and may begin publicising their schedules more aggressively to improve public awareness.
“We have roving machines moving around towns and villages. One thing we may need to do is publish the movement schedule more regularly on our social media platforms so that residents know where these machines are operating,” she said.
She assured residents that the commission was taking steps to improve service delivery and reduce waiting time before the July 10 deadline.
Background on CVR Phases
INEC commenced the first phase of the CVR on August 18, 2025, with online pre-registration, followed by in-person registration on August 25. At the end of the first phase on December 10, 2025, the commission recorded 2,572,054 completed registrations nationwide, comprising 1,503,832 online and 1,068,222 physicals.
The second phase began on January 5 and ended on April 17, with 3,748,704 completed registrations across the country. The interval between the phases is used to carry out statutory activities required by law, including the display of the voter register for claims and objections.
