The number of registered voters in Nigeria has surpassed 103 million ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday, October 5, in Abuja during a strategic workshop for media executives organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors in partnership with the commission.
The workshop, themed, “Strengthening Democracy Through Partnership Among Editors, Civil Society and Electoral Institutions,” focused on preparations for the 2027 elections and the role of the media in strengthening public confidence in the electoral process.
Amupitan said the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise produced 10,772,421 new registrants.
He said 2,611,266 people registered during the first phase, 4,121,835 during the second and 3,867,997 in the third phase.
The INEC chairman, however, noted that the figures were still subject to final verification following the completion of the Automated Biometric Identification System exercise.
“Following the conclusion of our three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which captured over 10.6 million new applicants, our Voter Register Department has completed the final Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup. Nigeria’s National Register of Voters is now over 103 million,” he said.
Amupitan also disclosed that INEC had completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities contained in its timetable for the 2027 elections.
He described the preparations as having entered the “amber zone” as the country moves closer to the polls.
READ ALSO: 2027: ADC Warns INEC Against Using Partisan Lecturers As Electoral Officers
According to him, the preliminary display of the voters’ register for claims and objections will run from October 9 to 15, 2026.
He further announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards would begin on Friday, October 9, with newly produced cards available at Local Government Area collection centres.
To make the process faster, the commission has introduced printable PVC technology, which Amupitan said would shorten the time voters have to wait before receiving their cards.
The technology, he added, would also assist eligible voters who lose their cards or have them stolen, helping to prevent disenfranchisement.
On election technology, the INEC chairman said the commission had procured 57,000 additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines to strengthen its technological capacity.
He explained that INEC opted to upgrade existing systems rather than deploy untested technologies shortly before the 2027 elections.
According to him, improvements to the BVAS, the electronic result management system and other platforms are intended to ensure that valid votes are properly captured and counted.
Amupitan also disclosed that INEC had introduced an enhanced eEC8A form, which is designed to digitise and cryptographically authenticate polling-unit results before they are uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing portal.
He said the commission was equally deploying artificial intelligence-driven systems to identify unusual database traffic and bolster cybersecurity around the electoral process.