Women outnumber men as INEC registers 3.87 million new voters

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 3,867,997 Nigerians successfully registered during the latest phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, with women accounting for the majority of the new voters.

The commission disclosed that female registrants totalled 2,037,589, representing 52.68 per cent of the new voters, while 1,830,408 males, or 47.32 per cent, completed the registration process.

INEC also revealed that young Nigerians continued to dominate the registration exercise, with citizens between the ages of 18 and 34 making up more than two-thirds of the new registrants.

According to the electoral body, 2,697,863 voters registered through physical registration centres nationwide, while 1,170,134 completed their registration through the online pre-registration platform before final verification.

A breakdown of the figures showed that Kano recorded the highest number of new registrants, followed by Lagos and Delta, while several other states also posted significant registration numbers.

The commission noted that no registration was recorded in Osun State during the period because the Continuous Voter Registration exercise had been suspended ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

INEC explained that the figures remain provisional, adding that a comprehensive data clean-up using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) would be carried out to eliminate multiple and invalid registrations before the names are added to the National Register of Voters.

The commission said the exercise reflects the growing interest of Nigerians, particularly women and young people, in participating in the country’s democratic process ahead of the 2027 general elections.