An independent, non-partisan civic organisation, Think Yoruba First-Political Action Committee (TYF-PAC), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to review and reform Nigeria’s voter registration framework, citing findings from its recent grassroots voter registration and civic engagement activities conducted across several communities.

In an open letter on Thursday, signed by the Director of TYF-PAC, Dr Bukola Adeniji, and addressed to the Chairman and Commissioners of INEC, the organisation said its field operations revealed that the current voter registration process remains cumbersome and exclusionary for a large number of eligible voters.

TYF-PAC noted that the existing two-step system—online pre-registration followed by mandatory in-person biometric capture—has become a major barrier to participation rather than an enabler of civic inclusion.

According to the organisation, while many citizens express strong willingness to participate in elections, practical challenges such as time constraints, mobility issues, and economic pressures prevent them from completing the registration process.
Traders, artisans, and informal sector workers, it said, often find it difficult to abandon their daily livelihoods to attend registration centres, while residents of rural and remote communities face additional hurdles related to limited internet access and restricted reach of INEC officials.

TYF-PAC further observed that the online pre-registration stage poses difficulties for low-literacy and digitally underserved populations, who make up a significant portion of Nigeria’s eligible voters.
It added that a considerable number of registrants are unable to complete the second stage of registration after initiating the process online.

Even among those who complete both stages, the organisation said delays in the issuance or collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) remain a persistent concern.
The group argued that these structural challenges contribute to voter apathy and exclusion, undermining efforts to broaden democratic participation.

It suggested that Nigeria’s existing National Identification Number (NIN) infrastructure, if properly integrated and secured, could support a more streamlined voter identification and verification process.

Based on its findings, TYF-PAC recommended a series of reforms aimed at making voter registration more accessible and efficient.
These include the introduction of same-day voter registration and verification, expansion of registration locations to commercial centres, banks, and government offices, and the adoption of full online registration with instant confirmation.

The organisation also proposed improved PVC delivery mechanisms, year-round registration, digital voter verification at polling units, and formal accreditation of civic organisations to assist non-literate and digitally underserved citizens.
TYF-PAC said it remains committed to expanding civic participation and disclosed that it is building a verified voter engagement database as part of its voter education and advocacy initiatives.

The organisation expressed readiness to engage further with INEC through structured dialogue, stressing that Nigeria’s democracy can only be strengthened through broad, fair, and practical access to participation.

“Our field operations revealed that Nigeria’s current voter registration process is unnecessarily cumbersome and alienating to a large segment of eligible voters. The existing two-step registration process—online pre-registration followed by mandatory in-person biometric capture—creates a significant barrier to participation. In practice, the requirement for physical biometric capture has become a major bottleneck that discourages otherwise willing citizens from completing registration,” it said.