The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Tuesday that it would be against the law and the constitution to start registering voters again before the 2023 elections.
However, civil society groups have protested, claiming that millions of Nigerians will be disenfranchised because INEC terminated the registration operation in July.
A Federal High Court in Abuja allegedly issued an order on Tuesday instructing the commission to begin voter registration till 90 days before the election.
INEC National Commissioner and Director of Voter Education Festus Okoye, however, said the commission had yet to receive the authentic certified copies of the court judgement when appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Okoye also implied that the period for registering new voters in advance of the 2023 elections was winding down.
Okoye has stated that the commission cannot resume the Continuous Voter Registration effort because doing so would violate the constitution and the law.
He added that INEC was trying to streamline the registration of new voters ahead of upcoming elections.
