The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained why many eligible Nigerians are yet to participate actively in the ongoing voter registration exercise nationwide.
During a Monday, the 5th of January, 2026, appearance on Arise Television, the Commission’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Etta-Messi, attributed the poor turnout largely to the difficulty residents face in accessing registration centres, especially in remote communities far from local government headquarters.
According to her, the long distance to INEC offices has made it inconvenient for many citizens to complete the registration process. To address this challenge, she disclosed that the Commission plans to adopt a rotational approach that will decentralise the exercise and bring it closer to the grassroots.
Explaining the new strategy and timeline, Etta-Messi said: “So, one major challenge that has been noticed and noted is the distance of local governments from the communities. That has been discouraging for the citizens to come to their local government capitals to get registered.
“And so because of that, the Commission is aware of that challenge. And so during the second phase, they are going to introduce the policy of rotation.
“So as we start today, because we’re not going to have the exercise on weekends, it’s about 75 days from today, January 5 to April 17. That will cover for the second phase.
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“So the Commission is looking into having started 50 days towards the end of the exercise, would initiate the rotation policy where the machines and the registration teams would be taken from ward to ward.
“And so we will draw out a schedule, where we would now be moving from one ward to another and the devices will be taken closer to the people at the ward level. But for now, we’re still holding on to the local government and the state offices,” she said.
She added that the rotational system is expected to significantly improve participation by reducing the stress and cost associated with travelling long distances to register.