The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recorded a cumulative 10,399,288 completed voter registrations across the three phases of the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ahead of the 2027 general election, with the recently concluded third phase accounting for 3,867,997 registrations.
Statistics released by the commission on Wednesday showed that the third phase, covering registrations completed online and physically as of 26 July 2026, comprised 1,170,134 online registrations and 2,697,863 physical registrations.
The third phase marked the final stage of INEC’s year-long Continuous Voter Registration exercise ahead of the 2027 polls.
If all the completed registrations are validated, Nigeria’s voter register could increase from the 93,469,008 used for the 2023 general election to about 103.9 million ahead of the 2027 elections.
However, the final figure is expected to be lower after INEC completes its mandatory data verification through the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which removes duplicate registrations, deceased voters and other invalid entries before the certified register of voters is published.
The CVR exercise commenced on 18 August 2025, with the first phase ending on 10 December 2025 after 2,782,587 eligible voters were registered.
The second phase ran from 5 January to 17 April 2026, during which the commission recorded 3,748,704 completed registrations, comprising 2,259,288 online pre-registrations and 1,489,416 physical registrations.
The third phase, which began on 4 May 2026, concluded with 3,867,997 completed registrations, including 1,170,134 online registrations and 2,697,863 physical registrations.
Cumulatively, the three phases of the nationwide exercise produced 10,399,288 completed registrations.
INEC stressed that the figures remain provisional pending data clean-up through the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), where multiple registrations and other irregularities will be removed before the final register is published.
The commission also disclosed that voter registration remained suspended in Osun State because of the forthcoming governorship election, in line with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act, 2022. Consequently, no registrations were recorded in the state during the third phase.
Among the states, Kano recorded the highest number of completed registrations in the third phase with 330,906, comprising 106,905 online and 224,001 physical registrations. Lagos followed with 181,254 registrations, while Delta recorded 166,895.
Other states with high registration figures included Edo (156,150), Sokoto (145,160), Taraba (141,649), Ogun (136,921), Bauchi (128,753), Jigawa (125,155), Oyo (125,144), Kogi (123,298) and Kaduna (121,872).
Benue (107,957), Anambra (108,163), Nasarawa (107,854), Imo (107,510), Bayelsa (102,840), Cross River (101,672), Katsina (96,764), Kebbi (96,214), Niger (95,807), Kwara (95,582) and Gombe (95,334) also recorded significant numbers.
At the lower end of the table, Plateau registered 41,993 voters, Ondo 23,824 and Ekiti 2,276, while Osun recorded no registrations because of the suspension of the exercise.
A regional breakdown showed that the North-West recorded the highest number of registrations with 993,117, followed by the South-South with 680,715. The North-Central recorded 628,776 registrations, while the North-East accounted for 595,218. The South-East registered 500,752 voters, while the South-West recorded the lowest regional total of 469,419, largely because registration was suspended in Osun State.
Lagos led the online registration category with 119,761 completed registrations, followed by Kano (106,905), Ogun (75,072), Sokoto (71,136), Kaduna (62,935) and Delta (61,365).
Physical registration remained the preferred option nationwide, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of all completed registrations, with Kano again recording the highest number at 224,001.
INEC said the registration figures remain subject to further verification and data clean-up before the final register of voters is published.
