The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Friday that the first phase of its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise successfully added 2,685,725 new prospective voters to the national registry.
The figure represents the total number of new registrants who completed their registration process, both online and in-person, before the initial phase concluded this week.
INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Dr. Sam Olumekun, released the provisional figures in Abuja, hailing the turnout as a significant demonstration of citizens' commitment to the democratic process.
"The commission is pleased with the response from eligible Nigerians during the initial phase of this continuous registration exercise," Olumekun said in a statement.
"The cumulative number of newly registered voters stands at 2,685,725."
The data provided by INEC shows a strong demographic skew toward younger Nigerians.
The majority of the new registrants, approximately 72% are youths between the ages of 18 and 34.
Women also slightly outnumbered men, reflecting a pattern observed in previous registration drives.
The CVR exercise, which began several months ago, is crucial for updating the national voter register ahead of forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections and the general election schedule.
INEC also disclosed that the commission received a total of 8,450,211 applications when combining all CVR activities.
The figure of 2,685,725 represents only the new voters who completed the process and whose data has been verified.
Olumekun further assured the public that the commission has commenced the comprehensive automated and physical cleaning of the register to detect and remove multiple or illegal registrants using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).
The commission is expected to announce the schedule for the next phase of the CVR exercise in the coming weeks.
