Nigeria’s National Register of Voters has risen above 103 million following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and a final biometric cleanup, the Independent National Electoral Commission has announced.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday at a one-day strategic workshop for editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors in collaboration with the commission in Abuja.
According to Amupitan, the three phases of the CVR exercise generated 10,772,421 new registrations, which were subjected to verification through the Automated Biometric Identification System.
He said the commission had completed the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections as well as the final ABIS cleanup, bringing the national voter register to more than 103 million.
“Following the conclusion of our three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which captured over 10.6 million new applicants, and the completion of the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections, our Voter Register Department has completed the final Automated Biometric Identification System cleanup. Nigeria’s National Register of Voters is now over 103 million,” Amupitan said.
The latest figure represents a significant increase from the over 93 million registered voters recorded before the CVR exercise.
INEC had earlier projected that the register would cross the 100 million mark after the conclusion of the registration exercise.
The commission also announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards will begin on Friday, October 9, 2026.
Amupitan said Phase 1 PVCs had been processed and distributed to all local government centres ahead of the commencement of collection.
He urged the media to sensitise Nigerians on the collection process, including the locations of collection centres, and encourage registered voters to obtain their cards promptly.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the INEC chairman further disclosed that the commission had acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices.
He said the new BVAS machines had undergone software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration as part of measures to prevent accreditation bypass and curb manual manipulation.
Amupitan said the commission had also strengthened its technological and cybersecurity infrastructure to improve the credibility and security of the electoral process.
The 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6.
On vote-buying, the INEC chairman said the commission had adopted a firm position against the practice and strengthened its collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice and anti-corruption agencies.
He said joint financial monitoring teams would be deployed to track illegal campaign spending and conduct surveillance at polling units across the country.
Amupitan warned political parties and candidates against attempting to induce voters with cash, stressing that anyone found engaging in vote-buying would face arrest and prosecution under the Electoral Act 2026.
“Elections must be decided by the conviction of the voter, not the depth of a candidate’s pocket,” he said.
