The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recorded a surge in online voter pre-registration ahead of the 2027 elections, with southern states currently leading the count, while northern states such as Kano, Kaduna, Yobe, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Kwara (Ilorin) have initiated aggressive voter mobilisation campaigns to close the gap.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced that over 3.5 million Nigerians have completed the online pre-registration.
The update was provided in a press release issued on Monday by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun.
“As of Sunday, September 7, 2025, a total of 3,544,850 Nigerians have now pre-registered online in three weeks since the commencement of the exercise on 18th August 2025,” Olumekun said.
A breakdown by state showed that Osun recorded the highest number of online pre-registrants with 518,635, representing 14.63 percent of the total. Lagos followed with 440,647 (12.43 percent), Ogun with 348,217 (9.82 percent), and Borno with 296,409 (8.36 percent). Kebbi recorded 193,781 (5.47 percent), while Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) accounted for 187,480 (5.29 percent) and 180,260 (5.09 percent) respectively.
Yobe had 173,731 (4.90 percent), followed by Kogi with 166,010 (4.68 percent), Oyo with 160,652 (4.53 percent), and Kwara with 78,245 (2.21 percent). Ekiti followed with 74,423 (2.10 percent), Kano with 66,091 (1.86 percent), Delta with 62,192 (1.75 percent), and Imo with 61,341 (1.73 percent).
Sokoto recorded 54,084 (1.53 percent), Jigawa 48,285 (1.36 percent), Bauchi 46,504 (1.31 percent), Katsina 47,220 (1.33 percent), and Niger 62,819 (1.77 percent). Zamfara followed with 32,784 (0.92 percent), Plateau with 32,000 (0.90 percent), and Akwa Ibom with 31,081 (0.88 percent).
Cross River had 22,938 (0.65 percent), Benue 20,786 (0.59 percent), Rivers 19,294 (0.54 percent), and Gombe 18,630 (0.53 percent). Taraba registered 17,324 (0.49 percent), Bayelsa 13,374 (0.38 percent), and Ondo 9,033 (0.25 percent).
Adamawa recorded 8,849 (0.25 percent), Edo 7,893 (0.22 percent), Abia 2,629 (0.07 percent), Ebonyi 1,616 (0.05 percent), and Enugu the lowest with 1,203 (0.03 percent).
The majority of registrants — 2,291,809 or 64.65 percent — are between the ages of 18 and 34. Students make up 24.89 percent (882,441) of the total online registrants.
From the onset of the exercise, which began on August 18, Osun, Lagos and Ogun states have consistently occupied the top spots. In the first week of the CVR, Osun led with 393,269 online registrations, followed closely by Lagos and Ogun.
The second-week update saw the figures surge further, with Osun climbing to 474,372, Lagos reaching 355,372 and Ogun over 265,000.
The upward trend persisted into the third week, with Osun crossing the half-million mark and Lagos and Ogun maintaining their strong positions.
This development underscores varying levels of civic engagement across regions as stakeholders prepare for Nigeria’s next general election. While INEC has not disclosed region-specific pre-registration figures, observers confirm that the South continues to dominate in terms of sheer numbers, prompting intensified efforts in the North.
