The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has registered 6,885,330 new prospective voters across three phases of its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, as the country prepares for the 2027 general elections.
The exercise, originally set to close July 10, was extended by two weeks and is now scheduled to end Sunday, July 26, 2026.
INEC said the third phase represents the final stage of registration.
The second phase was briefly suspended on April 17, 2026, so the commission could clean up the voters' register after publishing it for claims and objections.
Officials plan to display the provisional register in August, giving Nigerians a chance to verify their details and file objections if needed.
Though registrations have already topped 6.8 million, an INEC official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the commission had targeted about 10 million new voters.
The official cautioned that the current figure remains provisional, with biometric verification and duplicate removal still underway.
"We projected that about 10 million new voters could be added, but we cannot confirm the final number until registration closes and all verification processes are completed," the official said.
The official added that INEC would strip out multiple registrations through biometric checks before the register goes out for public scrutiny, with a final figure expected only after all claims and objections are resolved.
Online pre-registration accounted for 3,631,488 sign-ups, while 3,253,842 people registered in person, according to INEC data.
By phase:
- Phase I (August–December 2025): 2,685,725
- Phase II (through Week Six): 1,228,648
- Phase III (Week 10): 2,970,957
Kano posted the highest number of new registrations at 465,964, followed by Lagos (350,337), Sokoto (338,730), Imo (251,309), Osun (238,240) and Borno (201,724). Other states also logged notable totals.
By region, the Northwest led all six geopolitical zones with 1,560,531 new voters, ahead of the Southeast (830,774), North Central (784,632), South South (772,503), Southwest (758,170) and Northeast (753,431).
Women made up 52.57 percent of new registrants, or 1,561,765 people, compared with 1,409,192 men, or 47.43 percent.
Nigerians aged 18 to 34 formed the largest age bracket, with 2,003,183 registrations.
Students led among occupational groups, followed by business owners, housewives, farmers, artisans, traders, and civil and public servants.
INEC also recorded 32,361 registrants with disabilities during the latest phase.
INEC's voter roll has grown steadily in recent cycles, rising from 84,004,084 before the 2019 elections to 93,469,008 ahead of 2023 — an increase of roughly 9.5 million.
With more than 6.8 million new registrations already logged for this cycle, Nigeria's voter register is on track to edge closer to the 100 million marks once verification wraps up.
Comments
Add a comment