One hundred and eighty-seven candidates from 12 political parties are jostling for the 25 Cross River House of Assembly seats in the 2023 general elections.
Mr Yakubu assured Nigerians that INEC has no preferred party or candidate as Messrs Abubakar of the PDP, Obi of Labour Party and Tinubu of APC seek to succeed Mr Buhari.
The South-East has 11,498,277 eligible voters.
In separate interviews on Sunday in Kuje, the residents said those willing to register had been coming out in large numbers in vain.
Those who registered between January and June, would get their cards in October, while November is for those who registered from July 1 to July 31.
The CSOs urged INEC to magnanimously consider extending the deadline for the exercise in favour of the 2023 general elections.
INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, said that the BVAS would be deployed in the 176,000 polling units across the country.
Priority was being given to persons with disabilities, the elderly and pregnant women.
The Lagos government had directed closure of all markets in the state on Wednesday and Thursday to enable traders collect their permanent voter cards.
INEC national electoral commissioner Ken Okeagu dismissed the possibility of further extension of the voter registration exercise, which is billed to end on July 31.
