INEC records 3.4m new voters in ongoing registration exercise

The Independent National Electoral Commission has registered over 3.4 million new voters in the second phase of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, with youth and women leading participation figures.

The commission’s week 13 update, released Wednesday in Abuja, put total registrations at 3,441,121 as of April 3, comprising both online pre-registrations and physical walk-ins nationwide.

Of the total, 2,068,384 citizens enrolled online while 1,372,737 registered physically at designated centres across the country.

Jigawa topped the state-by-state breakdown with 201,047 registrants, representing 5.84 per cent of the national figure. Lagos followed with 181,095, while Kano ranked third with 177,681.

Youth turnout dominated the exercise, with citizens aged 18 to 34 accounting for 2,354,768 registrants — 68.43 per cent of the total. Women outnumbered men in gender distribution, with female registrants standing at 1,922,143 (55.86 per cent) against 1,518,978 males (44.14 per cent).

By occupation, students formed the largest group at 1,235,931 registrants (35.92 per cent), followed by those in business at 701,912 (20.40 per cent) and farmers and fishermen at 615,967 (18.28 per cent). A total of 48,330 Persons with Disabilities also enrolled during the period.

INEC cautioned that the figures remain provisional, pending data clean-up and verification through the Automated Biometric Identification System following the claims and objections window.

The commission also noted that voter registration remains suspended in the Federal Capital Territory under Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022, consequent upon the Area Council Election held on February 21.

INEC urged eligible Nigerians yet to register to visit its official portals and complete enrolment before the deadline.