INEC Records Over 1.2m New Voters in Ongoing Registration Exercise

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced a significant rise in voter enrolment under the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, revealing that more than 1.2 million Nigerians have successfully registered in the second phase of the programme.

In an update shared on its official X platform on Thursday, the Commission disclosed that as of February 13, 2026, a total of 1,228,648 eligible voters had completed registration during Phase II, Week Six of the exercise.

The figure represents a sharp increase from the 884,737 registrants recorded at the end of Week Five.

INEC data showed that 673,124 applicants initiated registration through the online pre-registration portal, while 555,524 individuals completed the process at designated physical registration centres nationwide.

A state-by-state breakdown indicates that Jigawa State recorded the highest number of new registrants with 98,698 voters, representing 8.03 per cent of the total.

It was followed by Lagos State (86,307), Sokoto State (77,004) and Kano State (71,990).

The gender distribution showed that women account for the majority with 696,891 registrants (57 per cent), while men make up 531,757 (43 per cent).

In terms of age demographics, young Nigerians between 18 and 34 years dominate the figures, with 848,066 registrants, representing 69.02 per cent of the total.

INEC also reported that 19,414 Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) have registered nationwide so far.

The Commission noted that the CVR exercise is ongoing across the country except in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where registration has been suspended in compliance with the Electoral Act ahead of the February 21, 2026 Area Council elections.

Phase II of the CVR began on January 5, 2026, and is scheduled to run until April 2026. It follows Phase I, conducted between August and December 2025, during which about 2.78 million new voters were added to the national register.