2027: Over 103m Nigerians Eligible to Vote — INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced that Nigeria’s National Register of Voters has risen to more than 103 million ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at a strategic workshop for editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors in collaboration with the commission.

Amupitan said the increase followed the completion of the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise and the final biometric cleanup of the voter register.

According to him, the three phases of the CVR recorded 10,772,421 new registrations, although the figure was subject to verification through the Automated Biometric Identification System.

The first phase, conducted between August and December 2025, recorded 2,611,266 registrations. The second phase, held from January to April 2026, produced 4,121,835 registrations, while the third phase, conducted from May to July, recorded 3,867,997.

Amupitan said the commission had also completed the public display of the preliminary register for claims and objections before concluding the final ABIS cleanup.

He announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards would commence on Friday, October 9, 2026. Newly produced PVCs have been processed and distributed to Local Government Area collection centres.

The INEC chairman urged registered voters to collect their cards promptly and verify their details ahead of the elections.

He also disclosed that INEC had acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices. The machines, he said, had undergone software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration to strengthen accreditation and prevent manipulation.

Amupitan said the commission had completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities on its revised timetable for the 2027 elections and was advancing towards the next milestone.

He said INEC was also working to improve logistics and technology so that voting could commence simultaneously across polling units nationwide.

The 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, while governorship and State House of Assembly elections will hold on February 6.

The commission also reiterated its commitment to tackling vote-buying, saying it would work with relevant law-enforcement and anti-corruption agencies to monitor illegal campaign spending and electoral malpractice.