By David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that Nigeria’s national voter register has risen to more than 103 million ahead of the 2027 general elections, following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and the final clean-up of the register.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at a strategic workshop for editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in collaboration with the electoral commission.
Amupitan said the commission registered more than 10.7 million new voters across the three phases of the CVR exercise conducted between August 2025 and July 2026, with the final figure subject to the outcome of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) verification.
He said the first phase of the exercise, conducted from August 25 to December 10, 2025, produced 2,611,266 new registrations.
According to him, the second phase, held between January 5 and April 2026, recorded another 4,121,835 registrations, while the third phase, conducted from May 11 to July 26, produced 3,867,997 new voters.
“The total new registration stands at 10,772,421, subject to the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) verification currently being concluded,” the INEC chairman said.
Amupitan explained that the commission introduced the Online Registration Portal during the third phase of the exercise to reduce the difficulties associated with distance and time for prospective voters.
He also said INEC introduced Printable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), in line with Section 18(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, as part of measures to make voter access easier and eliminate prolonged waiting periods for physical cards.
“Following the conclusion of our three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise which captured over 10.6 million new applicants and the completion of the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections, our Voter Register Department has completed the final Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup.
“Nigeria’s National Register of Voters is now more than 103 million,” he said.
The INEC chairman assured Nigerians that the commission would continue to deploy technology and other measures to ensure that eligible voters were not disenfranchised during elections.
He cited the recent experience in Osun State, where PVCs belonging to voters in some wards were reportedly stolen before an election, as an example of how technology could be deployed to protect the voting rights of affected citizens.
According to him, rather than allowing the theft of the cards to prevent affected voters from participating, INEC used its technology to print replacement cards and also introduced downloadable PVCs which enabled the affected electorate to vote.
“I want to place on record that during the Osun election, when PVCs of some wards in some local government were stolen, people thought they would be completely disenfranchised. Instantly, we used this technology to print, not to disable those PVCs that were stolen.
“We also implemented the downloadable PVCs, which the electorate used and cast their votes, just to ensure inclusivity and that nobody was disenfranchised,” Amupitan said.
He urged Nigerians who registered during the CVR exercise to take the next step by collecting their PVCs, announcing that nationwide collection would commence on October 9.
Amupitan said INEC had completed the processing and distribution of the Phase One PVCs to all local government centres, and appealed to the media to play a critical role in informing citizens about collection points and encouraging registered voters to collect their cards promptly.
“We appeal to the Nigerian Guild of Editors and all media executives present to leverage your platforms to inform the public, explain collection locations and encourage the registered voters to collect their cards promptly,” he said.
