By Jude Opara
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has relocated Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) centres from its offices in four local government areas of Borno State to Maiduguri, the state capital, due to security and safety concerns.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Borno, Abubakar Ahmad, disclosed this on Thursday during a press briefing to officially announce the start of the 2025–2026 CVR exercise in the state.
The affected LGAs are Abadam, Guzamala, Kala-Balge, and Marte.
He said: “For security and factors relating to safety, four INEC LGAs offices will conduct the physical (in-person) registration at locations in Maiduguri Metropolises. The LGAs affected are: Abadam, Guzamala, Kala-Balge, and Marte LGAs.”
Ahmad explained that INEC’s CVR centre for Abadam will now be at Baga Road, Guzamala’s at the Fire Service Department in 1,000 Housing Estate, Kala-Balge’s at Goni Kachalari Primary School, and Marte’s at Kachamai — all within Maiduguri metropolis.
He said the CVR exercise will run in three phases, from August 18, 2025, to August 30, 2026.
“Phase I shall commence on 18th August 2025 with online pre-registration, and subsequently, it will run concurrently on 25th August 2025 with physical (in-person) registration. These two (online pre-registration and physical registration) shall thereafter continue simultaneously. The websites for the online pre-registration are: www.cvr.inec.gov.ng and www.cvr.inecnigeria.org,” he stated.
The online process allows prospective voters to begin registration and book an appointment to complete it in person at any INEC state or local government office. Physical registration will begin on August 25, 2025, and will take place at state and LGA offices nationwide from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on weekdays, excluding public holidays.
Ahmad assured that INEC has made special provisions for persons with disabilities and encouraged them to participate.
The services to be provided during the 12-month exercise include registering Nigerians aged 18 and above who have never registered before, replacing lost or damaged Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), transferring registration to a new polling unit, collecting unclaimed PVCs from previous exercises, and updating details for voters whose PVCs failed verification in the last elections.
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