By George Mgbeleke<\/p>\n
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately extend the just ended Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and voter data update exercise by at least one month to ensure that millions of eligible Nigerians are not unjustly denied their constitutional right to participate in the 2027 general elections.<\/p>\n
The civil society body in a statement signed by its national coordinator,Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko expressed grave concern over what it described as the glaring absence of an aggressive nationwide voter education campaign by INEC at a time when the country is witnessing increasing voter apathy, widespread public distrust in the electoral process, and mounting concerns over vote buying, electoral violence and political intimidation.<\/p>\n
HURIWA said democracy cannot thrive where citizens are excluded from the electoral process because of administrative deadlines that fail to take into account the realities facing Nigerians, including poor access to registration centres, network challenges, transportation difficulties and the late awareness of registration schedules in many rural and urban communities.<\/p>\n
The civil rights advocacy group noted that countless eligible Nigerians, particularly young people who have recently attained voting age, students, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons and citizens seeking to update their voter records following relocation, have appealed for more time to complete the registration process.<\/p>\n
“It would amount to a serious democratic injustice if these Nigerians are denied the opportunity to vote simply because the electoral commission refused to accommodate legitimate public concerns. Every eligible citizen deserves a fair opportunity to register and participate in choosing those who govern the country,” HURIWA stated.<\/p>\n
Beyond voter registration, HURIWA expressed disappointment that there is little evidence of a comprehensive and sustained public enlightenment campaign by INEC to educate Nigerians on the dangers of vote buying and vote selling, practices that continue to undermine the integrity of elections and weaken democratic governance.<\/p>\n
According to the prominent pro-democracy body, electoral corruption remains one of the greatest threats to Nigeria’s democracy, yet there appears to be no visible nationwide mobilisation capable of discouraging desperate politicians from inducing voters or persuading citizens to reject monetary inducements during elections.<\/p>\n
HURIWA observed that despite existing legal provisions criminalising vote buying and vote selling, enforcement has remained weak and inconsistent, thereby encouraging political actors to continue violating the Electoral Act with little or no fear of prosecution.<\/p>\n
It also expressed concern over the apparent absence of a coordinated strategy involving INEC, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other relevant agencies to tackle electoral offences before, during and after elections.<\/p>\n
“It is not enough to warn politicians against vote buying. Nigerians deserve to see concrete preparations, intelligence gathering, surveillance, strategic deployment of personnel and clear operational plans for identifying, arresting and prosecuting those who seek to corrupt the electoral process through bribery, intimidation or violence,” the group said.<\/p>\n
HURIWA further lamented the absence of robust nationwide civic education programmes aimed at preventing election-related violence, warning that inflammatory political rhetoric, youth mobilisation for violence and the proliferation of small arms remain serious threats to peaceful elections if not proactively addressed.<\/p>\n
The civil rights campaign group HURIWA, argued that voter education should go beyond teaching people how to cast ballots and should include sustained campaigns promoting peaceful participation, tolerance of opposing political views, respect for election outcomes and confidence in democratic institutions.<\/p>\n
HURIWA also warned that Nigeria is facing the danger of worsening voter apathy unless urgent confidence-building measures are introduced. According to the group, many citizens have become increasingly disillusioned with the electoral process because they believe their votes may not count or that electoral offenders are rarely punished.<\/p>\n
The association therefore urged INEC to immediately launch an intensive nationwide voter mobilisation campaign in partnership with credible civil society organisations, faith-based institutions, traditional rulers, professional associations, youth organisations, women’s groups, community-based organisations and the media to encourage eligible Nigerians to register, collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and participate actively in the democratic process.<\/p>\n
HURIWA stressed that the credibility of the 2027 general elections will depend not only on transparent voting and credible collation of results but also on the willingness of electoral authorities to guarantee broad voter participation, enforce electoral laws without fear or favour, and demonstrate zero tolerance for vote buying, voter intimidation and electoral violence.<\/p>\n
The leading non-govermental body maintained that extending voter registration by one month would not weaken the electoral timetable. Rather, it would strengthen the legitimacy of the elections by ensuring that every eligible Nigerian willing to register is given a reasonable opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n
HURIWA called on INEC to rise above bureaucratic rigidity and demonstrate that it is committed to expanding democratic participation rather than restricting it.<\/p>\n
The association reaffirmed that credible elections are built on inclusion, transparency, accountability, public confidence and the strict enforcement of electoral laws. It urged INEC to act decisively now to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy and inspire confidence ahead of the 2027 general elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately extend the just ended Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and voter data update exercise by at least one month to ensure that millions of eligible Nigerians are not unjustly denied their constitutional right to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16290"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16292,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16290\/revisions\/16292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}