In a bid to ensure no eligible Nigerian is denied the right to vote, Yiaga Africa convened a high-level technical workshop on Early Voting and Inmate Voting yesterday, August 14, 2025, IN Abuja. The meeting brought together top officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), the National Assembly, security agencies, civil society, and the media to deliberate on practical and legal frameworks for expanding voter participation.
The workshop comes as the National Assembly considers provisions in the Electoral Bill to enable early voting for election duty officials, security personnel, journalists, and accredited observers, as well as voting rights for inmates in correctional facilities. These groups are often disenfranchised due to deployment or incarceration on election day.
In his opening remarks, Samson Itodo, Yiaga Africa’s Executive Director stressed that “Democracy only works when everyone’s voice can be heard.” Emphasizing that electoral reforms must leave no Nigerian behind, he highlighted the importance of early voting which seeks to ensure that those who protect our democracy would not have to choose between service or exercising their voting rights.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, reaffirmed the Commission’s support for enfranchising both election duty personnel and inmates, while highlighting logistical challenges such as the need for up to one million ad hoc staff, additional polling units, and secure result management systems.
Senator Abdulaziz Yar’adua, sponsor of the Early Voting Bill, underscored the importance of reform, while the Controller General of NCS, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, MFR, called inmate voting a civic right that could aid rehabilitation. He identified key implementation needs, including voter registration access, polling unit creation within correctional centres, and voter education.
Legal experts from NCS reviewed landmark court rulings affirming inmate voting rights, while civil society leaders and academics proposed centralized voting centres, electronic application systems, and pilot programmes to test feasibility.
Supported by the European Union Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) programme, the workshop ended with clear action points for the National Assembly, INEC, and NCS to collaboratively design operational guidelines and legal amendments to make early and inmate voting a reality.
