The number of registered voters in Nigeria has risen to more than 103 million ahead of the 2027 general elections, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has disclosed.
Amupitan made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at a strategic workshop with media executives organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in collaboration with INEC.
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He said the Commission had completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities contained in its timetable for the elections, adding that preparations had entered the “amber zone” as the countdown to the polls intensifies.
According to him, the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise attracted 10,772,421 new registrants, comprising 2,611,266 in the first phase, 4,121,835 in the second phase and 3,867,997 in the third phase, subject to final verification.
Amupitan said INEC had completed the final Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup, while the preliminary display of the voter register for claims and objections had been scheduled for October 9 to 15, 2026.
He said, “Following the conclusion of our three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which captured over 10.6 million new applicants, our Voter Register Department has completed the final Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup. Nigeria’s National Register of Voters is now over 103 million.”
The INEC chairman announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) would commence on Friday, October 9, with newly produced cards distributed to Local Government Area collection centres.
He said the commission had also introduced printable PVC technology to reduce the waiting period associated with the production and collection of voters’ cards and prevent eligible citizens from being disenfranchised.
On preparations for the 2027 elections, Amupitan said INEC had acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines and upgraded its existing electoral technologies.
He said the commission had also enhanced its electronic result management system and introduced an enhanced eEC8A form designed to digitise and cryptographically authenticate polling-unit results before their upload to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
According to him, INEC is also deploying artificial intelligence-driven systems to detect anomalies in database traffic and strengthen cybersecurity around the electoral process.
Amupitan said the commission was working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to monitor campaign spending and tackle vote-buying and illegal campaign financing.
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He said a joint financial monitoring mechanism would track suspicious campaign expenditure, while surveillance around polling units would be strengthened.
“Elections must be decided by the conviction of the voter, not the depth of a candidate’s pocket,” Amupitan said, warning politicians and their agents that violations of the Electoral Act would attract arrest and prosecution.
The INEC chairman also raised concerns over the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media, describing malicious disinformation capable of undermining elections as “citizenship terrorism through social media.”
He urged editors and journalists to verify information before publication, warning that false reports could suppress voter turnout, create panic and undermine confidence in otherwise credible elections.
Amupitan specifically warned against deepfakes, manipulated audio-visual materials, coordinated fake news and premature declaration of unofficial results.
He recalled instances where old photographs, manipulated images and fabricated reports had been circulated as current election-related events, including a false report claiming that members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) had been killed during the Federal Capital Territory elections.
The chairman said investigations later established that the report was false, urging newsrooms to take extra time to verify information before publishing.
He also warned against electoral violence, saying no political ambition was worth the loss of Nigerian lives.
Amupitan said INEC’s early-warning mechanism under the Inter-Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) was monitoring political violence, thuggery and inflammatory rhetoric ahead of the 2027 polls.
Earlier, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Eze Anaba, called for a credible and transparent electoral process that would ensure voters, rather than the courts, determine the outcome of elections.
Anaba said elections were not merely about casting ballots but about building citizens’ confidence that their votes would count and that institutions responsible for conducting elections would act fairly and professionally.
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“Elections are not merely about casting ballots. They are about trust. They are about citizens believing that their votes will count, that the process will be transparent, and the institutions responsible for conducting elections will act fairly and professionally,” he said.
Spark News reports that the workshop had the theme, “Strengthening Democracy Through Partnership Among Editors, Civil Society and Electoral Institutions.”