Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said more than 3.5 million Nigerians have pre-registered online for voter cards within the first three weeks of the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
Gatekeepers News reports that this was disclosed in a statement on Monday by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumeku.
According to the Commission, as of Sunday, September 7, 2025, a total of 3,544,850 citizens had completed their online pre-registration since the process began on August 18, 2025.
Of the figure, 1,709,933 (48.24%) are male, while 1,834,917 (51.76%) are female. Youths between 18 and 34 years account for 2,291,809 (64.65%), while 882,441 (24.89%) are students.
On completed registrations, INEC noted it would now present both online and in-person figures in a single graphic. As of September 4, the cumulative number of completed registrations (including physical capture) stood at 288,614.
Out of this, 132,634 (45.96%) are male and 155,980 (54.04%) are female, with 215,414 (74.64%) aged 18–34 years. Students make up 114,150 (39.55%) of those who have completed the process.
A detailed breakdown of the data by state, gender, age, occupation, and disability has been published on the Commission’s official platforms.
INEC commended citizens and organisations helping to mobilise civic participation but stressed that only Nigerians aged 18 and above are eligible.
“It is illegal for anyone to encourage underage registration or those below 18 years of age to register in anticipation that they will attain the legal age of voting by the time the general election holds in 2027,” the Commission warned.
INEC also clarified that online pre-registration alone does not complete the process, as biometric data must be captured physically at designated centres before a Permanent Voter Card (PVC) can be issued.
“For now, you can’t sort everything at home because we still need to capture your biometrics. If we are able to capture your biometrics online, then there will be no need to go to those centres. But we still need to capture your fingerprint biometric, so that is the essence for you to come to the centre,” explained INEC’s Director of ICT, Bayode Lawrence, on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
