Olusegun Adeyemo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released its first statistical update on the ongoing online Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), offering an early glimpse into how Nigerians are gearing up for the 2027 general elections.
The figures, covering registrations across states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), show a mixed picture of enthusiasm, with some regions pulling far ahead while others lag behind. Analysts believe the early trend could serve as a bellwether for voter mobilization and political engagement in the years leading to the polls.
According to INEC, Osun State emerged as the standout performer so far, recording 393,269 new registrants, which translates to 28.51% of the total. Lagos followed with 222,205 (16.11%), Ogun registered 132,823 (9.63%), and the FCT accounted for 107,682 (7.81%).
At the other end of the table, the South East states posted the lowest numbers. Ebonyi had just 261 registrants (0.02%), Imo 481 (0.03%), Enugu 484 (0.04%), while Abia recorded the highest from the zone with 772 (0.06%). Altogether, the five South East states accounted for only 1,998 registrants in the first week.
A zonal breakdown revealed that the South West is leading the process with 848,359 registrants, followed by the North Central and FCT with 250,218. The North West came next with 141,349, the North East recorded 77,653, the South South 59,676, while the South East trailed behind.
The statistics also showed that 27,089 persons living with disabilities have so far registered online.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, confirmed in a statement that a total of 1,379,342 Nigerians completed online pre-registration within the first week of the exercise, which commenced on Monday, August 18, 2025.
“The Commission is pleased to release the first weekly update of the exercise by providing details of registration by state, gender, age, occupation, and disability,” the statement read.
Olumekun disclosed that women accounted for a slightly higher number of registrants than men, with 717,856 (52.04%) females compared to 661,846 (47.96%) males. Young people between 18 and 34 years made up the majority of registrants with 860,286 (62.37%).
On occupational categories, students topped the list with 374,534 (27.15%).
Olumekun added that full details of the registration figures had been published on the Commission’s website and other official platforms for public access.