The South West leads the nation in the initial phase of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) online voter pre-registration exercise, contributing over 61 percent of the total 1,379,342 applications submitted between August 18 and 24, 2025.
The commission began the physical registration stage on Monday, August 25, 2025, following the online process.
According to INEC’s latest data released on Monday, Osun State topped the pre-registration list with 393,269 applicants, followed by Lagos with 222,205 and Ogun with 132,823.
Oyo recorded 66,951, Ekiti had 29,685 and Ondo contributed 3,426 registrations, bringing the South West total to 848,359.
Trailing behind, the South South zone logged 169,377 applications, while the South East recorded the lowest with 64,696.
Within the South East, Anambra accounted for the bulk of registrations with 62,698, whereas Abia (772), Ebonyi (261), Enugu (484) and Imo (481) showed significantly lower participation.
In the northern regions, the North Central zone, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), led with 243,768 registrations, largely driven by the FCT’s 107,682 and Kogi’s 58,546.
The North West followed with 145,490, while the North East was the lowest among northern zones with 77,652 pre-registrations, making up just 5.6 percent of the national total.
Overall, southern Nigeria accounted for 66.2 percent (912,432) of total registrations, with the North contributing 33.8 percent (466,910).
Demographically, youths aged 18 to 34 years dominated the registrants with 62.37 percent (860,286).
Middle-aged voters (35–49 years) made up 24.76 percent, seniors aged 50–69 years accounted for 11.41 percent, while those 70 and above represented just 1.46 percent.
Gender-wise, women slightly outnumbered men, representing 52.04 percent (717,856) compared to 47.96 percent (661,486).
In terms of occupation, students formed the largest group at 27.15 percent (374,534), followed by business people at 24.82 percent (342,363) and traders at 11.68 percent (161,137).
Artisans made up 10.12 percent, while farmers and fishers contributed 9.23 percent.
Civil and public servants combined accounted for less than five percent.
It is important to note that these figures only reflect the online and initial phase of the registration.
Candidates must complete their registration in person at designated INEC physical registration centres before they can be officially included in the voter register.
INEC had set up 811 physical registration centres nationwide, including offices in all 774 Local Government Areas and state capitals, operating from 9 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday.
