The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended its ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in Ekiti and Osun ahead of the governorship elections in both states.

INEC made the announcement in an official statement issued yesterday in Abuja for week one of phase III of the nationwide exercise.

The Commission said the suspension was in line with Section 9 (6) of the Electoral Act 2022, which stipulates that the registration of voters, updating and revision of the voters’ register shall stop not later than 90 days before any election.

The data, which captures registration statistics as of May 15, revealed that a total of 149,833 citizens successfully completed their registration across the country during the first week of the current phase.

Of this figure, according to INEC, 94,361 voters completed their pre-registration online, while 55,472 opted for physical registration.

INEC, however, noted that those figures remained preliminary, pending a comprehensive data clean-up during the upcoming claims and objections window, which would be followed by the deployment of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).

Meanwhile, a review of the state performance shows that Kano State recorded the highest number of total registrants in week one, with 13,569 individuals, representing 9.06 per cent of the national total.

Conversely, Ebonyi recorded the lowest turnout for the week with only 601 registrants, representing 0.40 per cent, followed by Akwa Ibom with 976, representing 0.65 per cent.

INEC urged eligible citizens in the non-affected states to utilise its online portals or visit designated physical registration centres to register before the phase concludes.