The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says the national voter register has risen to about 103 million ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Katsina recording the highest numbers of registered voters.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Tuesday at a world press conference and stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.
He said the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, conducted between August 2025 and July 2026, attracted 10,772,421 new registrants.
According to him, 2,611,266 people registered during Phase One, 4,121,835 during Phase Two, and 3,867,997 during Phase Three.
He explained that following the completion of the Automated Biometric Identification System, ABIS, verification, eligible registrants were added to the existing register, bringing the total to 103.43 million voters.
Lagos has the highest number of registered voters with 7,488,633, followed by Kano with 6,570,276, Kaduna with 4,662,640, Katsina with 3,876,051 and Rivers with 3,736,434.
Others are Oyo with 3,588,111, Delta with 3,525,988, Benue with 3,057,225, Ogun with 3,037,981 and Bauchi with 3,012,547.
Ekiti has the lowest number of registered voters at 1,055,708, followed by Bayelsa with 1,200,691, the Federal Capital Territory with 1,732,043, Yobe with 1,733,671 and Gombe with 1,768,566.
The INEC Chairman said male voters account for 53,528,218, representing 51.75 per cent, while female voters stand at 49,900,497, representing 48.25 per cent.
He said voters aged 35 to 49 constitute the largest age group with 43,265,946, representing 41.83 per cent, followed by those aged 18 to 34 with 29,777,578, representing 28.79 per cent.
Amupitan disclosed that the register also contains 232,658 Persons With Disabilities, PWDs, across ten disability categories.
He said the Register of Voters would be displayed nationwide from October 9 to 15, 2026, for public scrutiny in line with the Electoral Act 2026, while claims and objections arising from the exercise would subsequently be addressed.
The Commission, he added, would begin the distribution of Phase One Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, to Local Government Centres on Friday, October 9.
Amupitan said the Commission had introduced online registration and printable PVCs to reduce barriers associated with distance and delays in obtaining voter cards.
He said the final Register of Voters for the 2027 general elections is expected to be presented to political parties on December 15, 2026.
On the Commission’s preparedness, the INEC Chairman said nine major milestones in the timetable and schedule of activities had been completed, while the timeline had been converted into an operational plan for departments, directorates, states and local government offices.
He said contracts had been awarded for the production and delivery of 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, devices, as well as additional voting cubicles and ballot boxes.
The Commission, he added, had also finalised an integrated logistics strategy for the deployment of sensitive and non-sensitive election materials to 176,846 polling units across the country.
Amupitan said technology remained central to the Commission’s preparations, noting that BVAS devices were undergoing software upgrades, battery optimisation and biometric calibration.
He also disclosed that the enhanced eEC8A system would allow polling unit result sheets to be verified, cryptographically authenticated and uploaded directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV.
The Commission, he said, had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department, with AI auditing tools being integrated into the results verification process.
According to him, INEC will conduct a nationwide election simulation and mock accreditation exercise in November 2026 to test personnel, equipment and network systems under operational conditions.
On candidate nominations, Amupitan said 18 of the 22 registered political parties submitted 36 Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates, while 21 parties sponsored 1,313 Senate candidates and 3,547 House of Representatives candidates.
He added that 21 political parties also nominated 936 Governorship and Deputy Governorship candidates and 9,692 State House of Assembly candidates.
The INEC Chairman said all 112 formal complaints received from aspirants, candidates and political parties over the nomination process had been investigated and resolved, except those pending before the courts.
On the recent Supreme Court judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Amupitan said the Commission received the certified true copy of the judgment on Tuesday and was currently studying it.
He said the Commission was also working with relevant security and financial agencies to monitor illicit campaign spending and financial inducements during elections.
Amupitan disclosed that INEC would accredit election observers in November and publish the approved list, while party representatives would also be trained ahead of the 2027 polls.
He said the Commission was strengthening measures to improve electoral access for women, youths and Persons With Disabilities, including the procurement of Braille ballot guides, voter education materials, EC30 PWD posters, magnifying glasses and the deployment of certified sign language interpreters at state collation centres.
