Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that nearly 2.7 million new voters have been added to the national register through the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, signalling a surge in citizens seeking to participate in the next electoral cycle.
In figures released on Monday, INEC said a total of 2,685,725 new registrations had been recorded — 1,576,137 applicants completing the online pre-registration process and 1,109,588 finalising their details during in-person registration at centres across the country.
Osun State once again topped the chart with 208,357 new registrants, maintaining its lead since the start of the exercise in August. It was followed by Kano (159,669), Sokoto (152,650), Imo (145,561), Borno (123,835), Lagos (123,484) and Jigawa (116,246). The Federal Capital Territory posted 106,855, while Kogi (103,750), Zamfara (101,511) and Katsina (98,968) rounded out the top tier.
Further down the list, Delta recorded 91,562 new voters, Kaduna 89,899, Ogun 85,739, Kebbi 83,480 and Niger 79,785. Oyo registered 74,756, Akwa Ibom 74,015 and Rivers 70,902. Adamawa posted 57,312, Yobe 53,523 and Benue 53,207. Several states, including Plateau (26,360), Taraba (20,312), Enugu (19,275), Ondo (17,542), Cross River (16,822) and Abia (16,691), sat at the lower end of the table.
The first quarter of the nationwide registration drive is scheduled to close on 10 December, after which INEC will move into a mandatory public display of the updated register. In line with Section 19 of the Electoral Act 2022, the register will be displayed from 15 to 21 December at local government offices where CVR took place, allowing citizens to verify their details, correct errors and file objections.
INEC urged Nigerians — particularly those who registered, transferred their polling location or updated their information during this phase — to take the opportunity to scrutinise their entries, warning that public oversight is “vital to protecting the integrity of the voter register.”
The commission reiterated that registration remains suspended in Anambra State due to ongoing “electoral activities” there, with a new resumption date to be announced later.
The CVR process began on 18 August with online pre-registration before expanding to physical centres in all 774 local government areas, state headquarters and the Federal Capital Territory. The second phase of the nationwide exercise is due to resume on 5 January 2026 as part of INEC’s preparations for upcoming elections.
