The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that more than 2.6 million Nigerians have registered in the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise within just two weeks.
The disclosure was made on Tuesday in a statement by Sam Olumekun, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, following the Commission’s weekly meeting.
According to the statement, online pre-registration, which began on August 18, 2025, has so far recorded 2,532,062 entries. INEC described the figure as a strong indication of growing civic engagement among Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A gender breakdown shows that 1,218,482 registrants, or 48.12 percent, are male, while 1,313,580, or 51.88 percent, are female. By age category, youths between 18 and 34 years account for 1,602,484, representing 63.29 percent of the total, while students make up 647,528, or 25.57 percent.
Olumekun explained that the pre-registration system, introduced in 2021, offers Nigerians flexibility to initiate the process online at any time and from anywhere in the world. However, he stressed that all online applicants must appear in person at one of INEC’s 811 state and local government offices nationwide to complete biometric data capture.
“All online pre-registrants are required to complete the process in person at designated INEC registration centres. Without this, the online process remains invalid,” he stated.
The Commission also confirmed that in-person registration commenced on August 25, 2025, to cater for Nigerians without internet access or those who prefer physical enrollment. Between August 25 and 29, a total of 72,274 citizens registered or completed their pre-registration, with 49.29 percent male and 50.71 percent female. Of this number, 75.71 percent were between the ages of 18 and 34, while 42.83 percent were students.
INEC has published detailed data on the distribution of registrants by state, gender, age, occupation, and disability on its official website and social platforms.
The Commission commended civic groups and organisations for mobilising citizens to participate, while expressing satisfaction with the nationwide response so far.
