In the buildup to the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission has registered a total of 6,885,330 new prospective voters across the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which ends on Sunday, July 26, 2026. The conclusion of the registration follows a two-week extension from the initial closing date of July 10, 2026.
According to a statement by the Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee of the commission, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, the third phase marks the final part of the exercise. The second phase was suspended on April 17, 2026, to allow the commission to clean up its register after publication for claims and objections by registrants. Barring any alteration, the commission will display the register of voters for claims and objections in August.
However, with the conclusion of the third phase, indications show that the exercise fell short of capturing the anticipated number. An official of the electoral commission, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that the commission had projected that the exercise could add 10,000,000 new voters to the national register. Such an increase would have brought the total number of registered voters in Nigeria to 103,000,000, given that the commission recorded 84,004,084 registered voters ahead of the 2019 general elections, which rose to 93,469,008 for the 2023 polls, representing an increase of 9,464,924 voters.
The official explained that the commission would not announce the final number of newly registered voters until the registration portal closes and all verification processes are completed. He noted that although reports indicate that more than 6,000,000 new voters may have registered so far, the figure remains provisional because the commission still has to conduct biometric de-duplication and publish the register for claims and objections.
The official stated, "We anticipated this from the beginning of the exercise. Our projection was that we could have another 10 million new voters. Whether we eventually meet that projection or not, we cannot say anything definite until the registration closes and all the back-end processes are concluded,".
He added that the commission would clean up the register by removing multiple registrations through biometric verification before displaying the provisional register to allow citizens to correct errors or object to ineligible entries, including deceased persons. Only after completing the verification and claims process will the commission release the official figure of newly registered voters and update the national voters register.
The Continuous Voter Registration exercise has faced various challenges since its commencement. Aside from suspensions in some states due to off-cycle elections, hitches led to deadline extensions. The most controversial aspect involved plans by the commission to conduct a nationwide voter revalidation exercise. The proposal generated widespread public backlash, forcing the commission to instruct its resident electoral commissioners to halt publicity and logistics arrangements for the exercise.
The commission explained that revalidating the voter register aimed to remove the names of deceased individuals, ensuring an accurate and manageable register rather than one filled with outdated entries. It added that the exercise aimed to allow eligible citizens to confirm or update their details while addressing duplicate registrations. Despite suspending physical activities, the commission clarified that internal preparations, including staff recruitment and operational testing of the voter enrolment devices, would continue behind the scenes.
An analysis of the commission data showed that 3,631,488 prospective voters completed online pre-registration, while 3,253,842 were physically captured during the three phases. Phase I, conducted between August and December 2025, recorded 2,685,725 registrations, comprising 1,576,137 online pre-registrations and 1,109,588 physical registrations. Phase II, released on February 13, 2026, recorded 1,228,648 registrations, consisting of 673,124 online pre-registrations and 555,524 physical registrations. The Phase III report, released on July 17, 2026, showed registrations rising to 2,970,957, with 1,382,227 online pre-registrations and 1,588,730 physical registrations.
Demographic data from the Phase III report indicated that women accounted for 1,561,765 or 52.57 per cent of the latest registrations, while men accounted for 1,409,192 or 47.43 per cent. Young people aged between 18 and 34 remained the dominant group with 2,003,183 registrants, followed by those aged 35 to 49 with 645,651, those aged 50 to 69 with 294,443, and those aged 70 and above with 27,680.
Across the three phases, students constituted the largest occupational group with 1,833,160 registrants, followed by business owners with 1,366,159, housewives with 1,181,206, farmers and fishers with 998,074, artisans with 214,308, traders with 190,785, civil servants with 166,057, and public servants with 127,862 registrants. The commission also recorded 32,361 persons with disabilities in the latest phase. Registration was suspended in the Federal Capital Territory during Phase II due to area council elections and in Osun State during Phase III ahead of its governorship election.
A state-by-state analysis showed that Kano recorded the highest cumulative registrations across the three reporting periods with 465,964 registrants, followed by Lagos with 350,337, Sokoto with 338,730, Imo with 251,309, Osun with 238,240, and Borno with 201,724. Among states whose data were available in Phases II and III, Jigawa recorded 194,494 registrations, followed by Delta with 171,859, Edo with 150,829, Taraba with 138,897, Abia with 135,838, Katsina with 135,626, Kaduna with 134,172, Ebonyi with 133,618, Ogun with 129,734, Bauchi with 128,544, Benue with 125,639, Oyo with 121,261, and Niger with 115,244.
Others include Nasarawa with 113,904, Zamfara with 113,608, Kebbi with 113,154, Cross River with 107,670, Gombe with 97,081, Bayelsa with 96,677, Anambra with 94,370, Adamawa with 93,233, Akwa Ibom with 80,761, and Borno with 77,889 excluding Phase I figures. Figures for other states include Kogi with 104,641, Kwara with 99,350, Rivers with 98,690, Yobe with 102,775, Plateau with 46,768, Enugu with 58,146, Ondo with 29,925, the Federal Capital Territory with 41,700, and Ekiti with 11,495.
Regional analysis showed that the North-West recorded the highest number of registrations with 1,560,531, driven by Kano, Sokoto, and Jigawa. The South-East followed with 830,774 registrations, while the North-Central recorded 784,632. The South-South posted 772,503 registrations, the South-West recorded 758,170, and the North-East had 753,431 registrations.
Commenting on the figures, political scientist Kamilu Sani Fage stated that the increase in newly registered voters would only strengthen democracy if registrants turn out on election day. Fage noted that the continuous registration aimed to accommodate citizens attaining the voting age of 18 or those unable to register previously. He cautioned that figures would only be meaningful if the commission thoroughly cleans the register.
Fage stated, "There could be duplications. We hope INEC would take measures to clean the register and ensure that those with double registration are removed so that we have a realistic number of voters,". He also expressed concern over low voter turnout in past elections, urging the commission and political parties to step up voter education to encourage civic participation.
Meanwhile, an online opinion poll conducted across 28 respondents showed that 20 individuals expressed readiness to vote in 2027, citing civic duty and a desire for leadership change. One respondent stated, "I still believe my vote counts for a better Nigeria," while another noted, "I want to contribute my quota in ensuring good leaders get into power." A third participant stated, "I believe we need a visionary leader to help move this country forward," while another stated, "I want to make the change." Others noted, "I am ready to vote to bring changes in our country," and "because I need a change."
Conversely, respondents unwilling to vote cited distrust in the electoral system. One participant remarked, "Nowadays the real citizens̢۪ voting is not being counted," while another described voting as "totally a waste of time." An undecided respondent stated, "I am not sure of voting because our votes don̢۪t count in Nigeria."
Comparative data from the 2023 election report showed that all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory recorded increases between 2019 and 2023. Lagos retained the highest registered voters, increasing from 6,570,291 in 2019 to 7,060,195 in 2023. Kano grew from 5,457,747 to 5,921,370, while Kaduna rose from 3,932,492 to 4,335,208. Rivers increased from 3,215,273 to 3,537,190, Katsina from 3,230,230 to 3,516,719, and Oyo from 2,934,107 to 3,276,675.
Other notable increases include Delta rising from 2,845,274 to 3,221,697, Plateau from 2,480,455 to 2,789,528, Benue from 2,480,131 to 2,777,727, Bauchi from 2,462,843 to 2,749,268, Niger from 2,390,035 to 2,698,344, and Ogun from 2,375,003 to 2,688,305. Anambra increased from 2,447,996 to 2,656,437, Borno from 2,315,956 to 2,513,281, Edo from 2,210,534 to 2,501,081, Imo from 2,272,293 to 2,419,922, Akwa Ibom from 2,119,727 to 2,357,418, and Jigawa from 2,111,106 to 2,351,298.
Adamawa grew from 1,973,083 to 2,196,566, Sokoto from 1,903,166 to 2,172,056, Abia from 1,932,892 to 2,120,808, Enugu from 1,944,016 to 2,112,793, Kebbi from 1,806,231 to 2,032,041, and Taraba from 1,777,105 to 2,022,374. Ondo rose from 1,822,346 to 1,991,344, Osun from 1,680,498 to 1,954,800, Kogi from 1,646,350 to 1,932,654, Zamfara from 1,717,128 to 1,926,870, Nasarawa from 1,617,786 to 1,899,244, Cross River from 1,527,289 to 1,766,466, Kwara from 1,406,457 to 1,695,927, Ebonyi from 1,459,933 to 1,597,646, Gombe from 1,394,393 to 1,575,794, the Federal Capital Territory from 1,344,856 to 1,570,307, Yobe from 1,365,913 to 1,485,146, Bayelsa from 923,182 to 1,056,862, and Ekiti from 909,967 to 987,647.
0 Comments