By Emmanuel Onyedika
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 1,565,873 Nigerians have successfully completed their voter registration as of June 26, marking the end of the seventh week of Phase III of its Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
According to figures released in Abuja, 620,933 citizens completed online pre-registration while 944,940 registered physically. INEC explained that the numbers remain preliminary until a comprehensive data clean-up is conducted during the claims and objections period, after which the Automated Biometric Identification System will be deployed.
Kano recorded the highest number of registrants with 118,207, representing 7.55 percent of the national total. Lagos followed with 78,360 registrants, representing five percent, while Delta had 76,395, representing 4.88 percent.
INEC also confirmed that voter registration has been temporarily suspended in Ekiti and Osun states in line with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022, due to the recently concluded Ekiti governorship election and the forthcoming Osun governorship poll.
The gender distribution showed that female registrants accounted for 821,276, representing 52.45 percent of the total, while male registrants accounted for 744,597, representing 47.55 percent. Youths aged 18 to 34 dominated the exercise with 1,082,985 registrants, or 69.16 percent of the total. They were followed by people aged 35 to 49, with 331,376 registrants, representing 21.16 percent, while older age groups made up the remainder.
Students formed the largest occupational category of new registrants with 384,093, representing 24.53 percent. Business owners followed with 333,539 registrants, representing 21.30 percent, while those engaged in farming or fishing accounted for 273,627 registrants, representing 17.47 percent. The statistics also revealed that 18,919 persons with disabilities registered during the period.
INEC reiterated its commitment to transparency and credibility in the registration process, stressing that the clean-up phase will ensure the integrity of the voters’ roll ahead of the 2027 general elections.