Anambra’s Defining Moment: Seize The Voter Registration Window Before It Closes
By Prince Chris Azor
Anambra State is once again on the edge of a critical democratic moment.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared a 10-day Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, running from Monday, July 8 to Wednesday, July 17, 2025; a short but decisive window that could determine who shapes the destiny of the State in the November governorship election.
This is a time bound civic duty that calls for widespread urgency, strategic coordination, and massive grassroots mobilization. It’s not just about registration.
It’s about rewriting the story of voter apathy, political detachment, and civic silence that has plagued our elections in recent years.
The figures are stark. In the 2023 general elections, over 2.5 million Anambra residents were registered to vote. Yet, only 27% of them showed up at the polls.
The 2021 governorship election saw an even more worrisome turnout of barely 10%.
This means that nine out of ten registered voters did not vote. The silent majority, by omission, handed power over to the few who chose to participate.
This is not just a statistical issue, it’s a civic crisis. And that crisis begins not on election day, but at the point of registration.
When citizens fail to register, they disqualify themselves from the most fundamental act of citizenship: choosing their leaders.
They also, by extension fail to represent those who are ineligible to participate, especially children and the incapacitated among us.
INEC has now created the space for every eligible resident, especially those who are 18 and above, first-time voters, relocated persons, and individuals who have misplaced or damaged their PVCs, to step forward and be counted.
The exercise will hold daily (except Mondays), including Saturdays, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. across all the 326 Wards and 21 Local Government Areas of the State.
We must recognize that the voter register is not just an administrative list, it is the backbone of electoral credibility.
A comprehensive, accurate and inclusive register is the bedrock of free, fair, and credible elections.
It ensures that no one is left behind and that every voice has equal weight in the democratic equation.
Unfortunately, many citizens carry the PVC for everything but voting. It serves as an ID for banking, employment, education, and telecom services.
But the real value of the PVC is in the ballot box; it is the key to reclaiming power from failed leadership and redirecting governance toward people centered development and service delivery.
There is a deeper social obligation here. Possessing a PVC without voting is like owning a megaphone and choosing silence.
Registering to vote is a public affirmation that one believes in change, that one still has hope in the system, and willing to shape the outcomes, rather than lamentations.
This is especially true for the youth. With over 60% of Nigeria’s population under 30, Anambra’s young people carry the political weight of a generation.
But unless they register and participate, they forfeit the opportunity to influence policies that directly affect their lives; education, jobs, security, welfare and innovation.
The trend of apathy must be reversed. We’ve seen too many young people sitting out elections, playing football on the streets while leadership decisions are being made without them.
We’ve seen Communities complain of bad roads, failed schools, or insecurity—yet on election day, their votes are missing. It’s time to connect the dots between the problems we face and the votes we cast, or fail to cast.
This moment requires a coordinated response from all stakeholders.
Civil Society groups, religious leaders, traditional institutions, Unions, Professional bodies, market associations, youth and student bodies, Women groups, the Media, and influencers must come together to mobilise their Communities.
Let the announcements ring in churches and mosques.
Let traditional rulers call town hall meetings. Let schools, trade unions, and local networks educate their members, let the Civil Society engage their networks.
The time to act is now. By July 17, the window will close.
We must not allow history to repeat itself.
Let’s make registration a movement.
Let’s carry this message to the hinterlands, the markets, the campuses, the churches, the motor parks, the streets, door to door, house holds to households.
Let no eligible voter be left unaware. Let no community be silent. Let no youth remain indifferent.
Let’s register.
Let’s mobilise. Let’s vote.
And let this be the election where Anambra shows that democracy lives in the people, fully awake, fully engaged, and fully in charge.
Long Live Anambra State.
Long Live Nigeria💪🏾
Prince Chris Azor is a Citizen advocate, and
President, International Peace and Civic Responsibility (people-centred CRC)
Phone: 08032102294 (SMS Only)
