By Adepote Arowojobe

Alhaji Waheed Animashaun, Chairman, All Progressives Congress, Ikorodu, Lagos State, has urged eligible residents to participate in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) to get their Permanent Voter Card (PVC).

Animashaun made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Ikorodu.

NAN reports the party chairman spoke on the sidelines of the inauguration of the committee on Continous Voters Registration (CVR) in the community.

NAN reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says the CVR will run for a year and is scheduled to end on Aug. 30, 2026.

Animashaun particularly urged newly relocated residents and those who just turned 18 years to take advantage of the exercise to get their voter cards.

According to him, the CVR initiative is aimed at encouraging residents, especially first-time voters and those without PVC, to register and be eligible to participate in elections.

Animashoun urged traditional rulers, youths, market women/men, religious leaders and councillors to be actively involved in sensitising eligible voters.

He added that each zone would have designated agents to assist residents with registration.

“The exercise is part of efforts to deepen democratic participation and strengthen grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“The CVR initiative is aimed at encouraging residents, especially first-time voters and those without PVC, to register and be eligible to participate in future elections,” he said.

Earlier, Princess Folashade Olabanji-Oba, former Vice Chairman of Ikorodu Local Government, said that the CVR programme is an opportunity for citizens to take ownership of their democratic rights.

Olabanji-Oba, who is the committee’s publicity secretary, said that the committee had devised a structure that would make voter registration accessible in all geopolitical zones of the local government.

“Politics is all about numbers, and the PVC is the most powerful tool any citizen can use.

” The refusal of residents to participate in voting has a lot of consequences.

“The days of indifference should be over because democracy thrives only when people are actively involved.” she said.

She called on residents to see the exercise as part of a renewed hope for greater representation in Lagos State politics.

“Your PVC is your identity and your strongest weapon in building a better future,” she said.

Olabanji-Oba, expressed gratitude to the division’s apex party leader, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, an ex deputy governor of the state, for his “exemplary leadership that has kept Ikorodu united as one family under the party,”.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Edith Bolokor/Buhari Bolaji