The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says Nigeria’s National Register of Voters now stands at more than 103 million following the completion of the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and a final biometric cleanup.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Tuesday at a World Press Conference and National Stakeholders Meeting organised by the commission at the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.
Amupitan said the three phases of the CVR exercise produced 10,772,421 new registrations following the conclusion of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) exercise.
According to him, the 103 million registered voters make Nigeria the largest democracy in Africa.
He listed Lagos, Kano and Kaduna as the three states with the highest number of registered voters.
“The national register of voters now stands at 103 million, making Nigeria the largest democracy in Africa,” Amupitan said.
Lagos has 7,488,633 registered voters, followed by Kano with 6,570,276 and Kaduna with 4,662,640.
Other states in the top 10 are Katsina, with 3,876,051 registered voters; Rivers, 3,736,434; Oyo, 3,588,111; Delta, 3,525,988; Benue, 3,057,225; Ogun, 3,037,981; and Bauchi, 3,012,547.
At the lower end of the register, Ekiti has 1,055,708 registered voters, followed by Bayelsa with 1,200,691. The Federal Capital Territory has 1,772,043 registered voters, while Yobe and Gombe have 1,733,641 and 1,768,566 respectively.
Amupitan said male voters account for 53,528,218, representing 51.75 per cent of the register, while female voters number 49,900,497, representing 48.25 per cent.
The age profile shows that voters aged 35 to 49 constitute the largest group, with 43,265,946 registered voters, representing 41.83 per cent of the total.
They are followed by voters aged 18 to 34, who number 29,777,576, or 28.79 per cent.
Voters aged 50 to 69 account for 22,982,900, representing 22.22 per cent, while those aged 70 and above are the smallest age group, with 7,402,291 voters, or 7.16 per cent.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the register includes 232,658 persons with disabilities across 10 disability categories, representing about 0.23 per cent of the total registered voters.
In line with Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, the register of voters will be displayed for public scrutiny from October 9 to 16, 2026, in accordance with the requirement that it be displayed not later than 90 days before the election.
Amupitan said claims and objections arising from the nationwide display would be addressed after the exercise.
He also announced that the first phase of the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) at all local government centres would begin on October 9, 2026.
