The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said Nigeria’s voter register has exceeded 103 million ahead of the 2027 general elections, with nationwide Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection scheduled to begin on October 9.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at a workshop for editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in collaboration with the commission.
He said the updated register followed the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise conducted between August 2025 and July 2026, alongside the public display of the preliminary register for claims and objections and biometric verification of applicants.
“Following the conclusion of our three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which captured over 10.6 million new applicants, and the completion of the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections, our Voter Register Department has completed the final Automated Biometric Identification System cleanup. Nigeria’s National Register of Voters is now more than 103 million,” he said.
Breaking down the registration exercise, Amupitan said the first phase, held from August 25 to December 10, 2025, recorded 2,611,266 registrations.
He said the second phase, which ran from January 5 to April 2026, recorded 4,121,835 applicants, while the third phase, conducted between May 11 and July 26, added 3,867,997 registrations.
He explained that the commission introduced an online registration portal during the third phase to ease difficulties associated with travelling to registration centres and the time required to complete the process.
According to him, INEC also introduced printable PVCs under Section 18(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, enabling eligible voters to obtain their cards without lengthy waits for physical copies.
He assured Nigerians that the commission would use available technology to protect voting rights and prevent eligible citizens from being disenfranchised in the forthcoming elections.
He cited the recent Osun election, where PVCs belonging to voters in some wards were reportedly stolen, saying the commission provided replacement cards and downloadable versions so affected voters could participate.
“I want to place on record that during the Osun election, when PVCs of some wards in some local government were stolen, people thought they would be completely disenfranchised,” he said.
“We also implemented the downloadable PVCs, which the electorate used to cast their votes, just to ensure inclusivity and that nobody was disenfranchised,” he said.
The INEC chairman said the commission had completed processing and distributing PVCs for voters registered during the first phase to all local government collection centres.
He urged registered voters to collect their cards promptly when the nationwide exercise opens on October 9.
He also called on media organisations to publicise collection locations and encourage eligible voters to obtain their PVCs ahead of the 2027 polls.
