INEC’s voter registration: Over 1.3 million Nigerians sign up online in one week

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that nearly 1.4 million Nigerians pre-registered as voters online within the first week of its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

According to a statement released on Monday by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information & Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, the online pre-registration, which began on August 18, saw a total of 1,379,342 Nigerians sign up by Sunday, August 24.

The data of the voter registration released by INEC showed that young people between the ages of 18 and 34 constituted the majority of the new registrants, accounting for 860,286, or 62.37% of the total.

In terms of gender, women slightly outnumbered men, with 717,856 (52.04%) pre-registering compared to 661,846 (47.96%) males.

Students made up the largest occupational group, with 374,534 registrants (27.15%), while 27,089 persons with disabilities (1.96%) also pre-registered.

The CVR exercise, which is part of the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, has now moved into its second phase with the commencement of in-person, physical registration.

Beginning today, eligible citizens can complete their registration at any of the 811 INEC state and local government offices nationwide.

This phase is intended for both new registrants and those who pre-registered online to complete their biometric capture.

INEC has urged all intending registrants not to wait until the last minute, reminding the public that the exercise will continue for one year, until August 30, 2026.

The commission also reiterated that double or multiple registration is a punishable offense under the law, though it allows for the transfer of registration and the replacement of lost or damaged voter cards.

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