Nigeria's electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have revealed that the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise will commence in the first quarter of next year, ahead of the 2023 General Elections.
The Commison, which made this known on Wednesday, also earmarked the sun of one billion naira for the exercise.
Speaking at the budget defense of the commission at the Senate, the chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, explained that he was in support of support of diaspora voting and called on the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act to accommodate diaspora and early voting.
The INEC boss is also seeking approval of the Senate to spend N5.2 billion from the special INEC fund to make up for the shortfall in the 2020 budget which was cut because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
INEC had earlier in October said the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the voter registration exercise.
The Chief Press Secretary to the commission said the virus was still very much in the community and CVR is a national exercise that requires the mobilisation of a lot of equipment, materials, and personnel.