Lagos, Kano and Kaduna states have emerged as the states with the highest number of registered voters ahead of the 2027 general elections, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) disclosed that the national register now stands at more than 103 million voters.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at a world press conference and national stakeholders’ meeting to mark 100 days to the 2027 general elections.
According to him, Lagos tops the register with 7,488,633 registered voters, followed by Kano with 6,570,276 and Kaduna with 4,662,640.
Other states in the top 10 are Katsina, with 3,876,051 voters; Rivers, 3,736,434; Oyo, 3,588,111; Delta, 3,525,988; Benue, 3,057,225; Ogun, 3,037,981; and Bauchi, 3,012,547.
At the bottom of the register, Ekiti has the lowest number of registered voters, with 1,055,708, followed by Bayelsa with 1,200,691.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has 1,732,043 registered voters, while Yobe and Gombe have 1,733,671 and 1,768,566 respectively.
Amupitan said the register followed the completion of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) verification after three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), which collectively produced 10,772,421 new registrations.
He said Phase I of the CVR, conducted from August 25 to December 10, 2025, registered 2,611,266 voters, while Phase II, held between January 5 and April 17, 2026, registered 4,121,835 voters.
Phase III, which ran from May 11 to July 26, 2026, produced another 3,867,997 registrations.
The chairman said the new register comprised 53,528,218 male voters, representing 51.75 per cent, and 49,900,497 female voters, representing 48.25 per cent.
They were followed by those aged between 18 and 34 years, with 29,777,578 voters, representing 28.79 per cent; voters aged between 50 and 69 years, with 22,982,900, representing 22.22 per cent; and those aged 70 years and above, with 7,402,291, representing 7.16 per cent.
The INEC chairman said the register also contained 232,658 persons with disabilities (PWDs), representing about 0.23 per cent of the total registered voters.
He said the register would be displayed nationwide for public scrutiny from October 9 to 15, 2026, in line with Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026.
According to him, claims and objections arising from the display would subsequently be addressed, while the distribution of Phase One Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to all local government centres would commence on October 9.
He said the printable PVC technology was tested during the Osun governorship election and enabled voters whose physical PVCs had been stolen to exercise their franchise.
*INEC acquires additional 57,000 BVAS machines for exercise
Ahead of the elections, the commission said it had acquired 57,000 additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices to strengthen the accreditation process.
Amupitan said the commission had moved from the planning and tendering stage into active contract execution, production, delivery and construction.
“Contracts have been awarded, and production is advanced for 57,000 new BVAS devices, additional voting cubicles and ballot boxes. Some of the newly acquired BVAS have been delivered,” he said.
He added that nationwide delivery of new operational vehicles was ongoing, while construction of dedicated BVAS storage facilities and local government offices was progressing.
According to him, the commission had also awarded a contract for solar power installation across its offices nationwide, while upgrades to critical information and communications technology infrastructure were being implemented.
On sensitive election materials, Amupitan said procurement for the printing of ballot papers and result sheets was nearly completed and moving towards final contract award.
The INEC chairman said the 2027 elections would be conducted across 176,846 polling units and 8,838 Registration Areas, requiring a massive logistics operation involving difficult terrains, riverine communities and remote locations.
He said the commission had renewed and strengthened its agreements with transport unions, including the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN).
The framework, he said, would facilitate the early mobilisation of more than 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats for the movement of personnel and election materials.
Amupitan said sensitive materials would be moved from Central Bank of Nigeria vaults to local government areas 72 hours before the elections, with materials expected to reach Registration Area Centres by 4 p.m. on the eve of polling.
The commission also disclosed plans to deploy artificial intelligence in the monitoring and verification of election results.
Amupitan said INEC had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department, while AI auditing tools were being integrated into its results verification process under a five-pillar AI governance framework with mandatory human oversight.
He said the commission was also working with international technology partners to deploy AI-driven anomaly detection tools to monitor database traffic and protect public portals from cyber intrusions or unauthorised alterations.
He added that a six-day stress test of configured BVAS devices had been scheduled for October 23 to 28, while a nationwide mock accreditation exercise would take place in November.
The chairman urged the media to establish fact-checking desks and use digital forensic tools to combat deepfakes and misinformation ahead of the election.
He warned against the publication of privately collated election results, stressing that the authority to declare election results rested exclusively with INEC.
“With generative AI, voice cloning and deepfake videos, it is now cheap to fabricate the voices of election officials, doctored result sheets and fake letterheads and spread them faster than they can be verified,” Amupitan said.
He urged journalists to verify election-related information with the commission before publication, adding that “in national elections, it is far more important to be right than to be first.”
*1.4m ad hoc personnel required
Amupitan disclosed that INEC would require 707,384 ad hoc personnel for each of the two election days, amounting to 1,414,768 engagements for the presidential/National Assembly and governorship/State Assembly elections.
He said the commission’s recruitment portal opened on September 18 and would close on November 18, 2026.
The chairman said the bulk of the workforce would again be drawn from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), which accounted for more than 70 per cent of ad hoc personnel in 2023.
He urged eligible Nigerians to apply early and provide accurate and verifiable information.
The European Union also pledged continued support for Nigeria’s democratic process and called on all stakeholders to facilitate INEC’s work, particularly through adequate funding.
The EU representative at the event said the January and February 2027 elections represented a crucial opportunity to reaffirm the strength of Nigeria’s democracy and provide elected leaders with the legitimacy required to govern.
He described INEC’s task as “Herculean,” stressing that the commission would depend on hundreds of thousands of mostly young Nigerians deployed across the country to conduct the elections.
The EU representative said the recent off-cycle elections, including the Osun governorship poll, showed efforts by INEC to improve citizens’ confidence in the electoral process.
He disclosed that the EU would deploy an electoral mission made up of experts to follow preparations, the conduct of the elections and their immediate aftermath.
He also called on political parties, security agencies, the media, civil society and voters to play their respective roles in ensuring credible elections.
The Nigeria Police Force, represented by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Mobile Force, Alinyenu Idu, assured Nigerians that security agencies were working to create a safe environment for voters and electoral officials.
Idu said the police were currently conducting clearance operations in parts of Kogi, Niger, Benue and Taraba states to stabilise areas affected by security challenges ahead of the elections.
According to him, the police, military and other security agencies were reviewing their operational framework to ensure that citizens could participate freely without fear of violence.
He said the police would review their pre-election activities in November and provide a comprehensive update by the end of December.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters also pledged the National Assembly’s support for the continuous improvement of Nigeria’s electoral framework.
He said electoral credibility was a collective responsibility involving political parties, candidates, security agencies, media organisations, civil society groups, voters and other institutions.
He urged political parties and candidates to respect electoral rules and promote issue-based campaigns, while calling on the media to provide accurate, balanced and responsible reporting.
He said the Senate committee would continue to engage INEC and other stakeholders on legislative and institutional reforms required to strengthen the electoral system.
