Nigerians have demonstrated a strong desire to participate in next year’s general elections, with a total of 10.18 million eligible voters completing the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) draws the curtain on the exercise ahead of the 2027 polls.
The commission announced that a total of 3,867,997 Nigerians successfully completed the CVR exercise at the end of Phase III, Week 11, which concluded last weekend.
According to information published on its portal, about 10.18 million eligible voters may have been added to the voter register during the three phases of the exercise.
While the exercise recorded 2,572,054 voters during the first phase of the registration, 3,748,704 voters were added at the end of the second phase, bringing the cumulative figure of new registrants to about 10,188,755, including the Phase III total.
According to information published by the electoral umpire, the total number of eligible Nigerians expected to exercise their franchise during next year’s general elections currently stands at over 93 million voters.
However, following concerns expressed by the commission’s Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, over duplication in the voter register, including possible duplication among the 10 million fresh registrants, the final number of eligible voters may be lower.
The commission’s infographic, released on Wednesday night, revealed that 2,697,863 registrants completed the exercise through physical registration centres, while 1,170,134 registered online before completing the required process. The figures show that physical registration remained the preferred option, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of all completed registrations.
The breakdown of the registration figures by state indicates that Kano recorded the highest number of completed registrations, with 330,906, representing 8.55 per cent of the nationwide total.
Lagos followed with 181,254 registrations, representing about 4.69 per cent, while Delta State ranked third with 166,895 registrations (4.31 per cent). The figures also showed that Edo and Sokoto states recorded 156,150 and 145,160 registrations, respectively.
Other states with high registration figures include Ebonyi (146,507), Taraba (141,649), Ogun (136,921), Bauchi (128,753), Jigawa (125,155) and Oyo (125,144).
States with lower registration figures include Ekiti, with 2,276 completed registrations; Ondo, with 23,824; Plateau, with 41,993; and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with 56,285.
Providing further details, the commission noted that Osun State recorded no registrations during the period due to the suspension of the CVR exercise ahead of the forthcoming off-cycle governorship election, explaining that this was in line with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022.
The electoral umpire also clarified that the figures reflect completed online and physical registrations across the country as the nationwide CVR exercise progressed towards expanding voter participation ahead of future elections.
(The Sun)
