Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that more than 2.5 million Nigerians have completed their online voter pre-registration within the first two weeks of the continuous voter registration (CVR) exercise.
Gatekeepers News reports that according to the commission, the nationwide online pre-registration exercise, which began on August 18, 2025, recorded 2,532,062 entries by August 31.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Sam Olumekun, INEC’s national commissioner and chairman of the information and voter education committee, provided a breakdown of the figures: 1,218,482 (48.12 percent) were male, while 1,313,580 (51.88 percent) were female.
By age and occupation, the majority — 1,602,484 (63.29 percent) — were between 18 and 34 years, with 647,528 (25.57 percent) identified as students.
Osun State led the online pre-registration tally with 474,372, followed by Lagos with 355,372 and Ogun with 265,399.
The statement added, “The Commission reiterates that these are preregistration figures from our dedicated CVR portal.”
“The introduction of the pre-registration option in 2021 has enabled Nigerians to commence the online process from anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, including weekends.”
“However, all online pre-registrants are required to appear physically to complete the process in our 811 State and Local Government offices nationwide, where their fingerprints and facial biometric details will be captured. This instruction is clearly stated on the online portal.”
We urge all online pre-registrants to complete the process in-person at the INEC-designated registration centres without which the online process alone is invalid.”
Meanwhile, in-person registration, which commenced on August 25, 2025, has so far seen significantly lower numbers. According to Olumekun, only 72,274 citizens have either completed the pre-registration process or registered afresh in person. Akwa Ibom leads with 5,470 registrations, followed by Kano with 5,019 and Sokoto with 4,525.
In contrast, Osun, Lagos, and Ogun which topped the online pre-registration list posted much lower in-person figures: Osun (548), Lagos (2,178), and Ogun (1,636).
Olumekun further revealed that of the 72,274 in-person registrations completed, 35,622 (49.29 percent) were male and 36,652 (50.71 percent) were female. A large proportion, 54,718 (75.71 percent), were between the ages of 18 and 34, while 30,953 (42.83 percent) were students.
