The Independent National Electoral Commission says the number of registered voters in Nigeria has risen above 103 million ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Monday at a strategic workshop for media executives organised by the commission in collaboration with Development Alternatives Incorporated and the Nigerian Guild of Editors in Abuja.
Amupitan said the figure followed the completion of the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which attracted more than 10.6 million new applicants.
He said the commission had also completed the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections, as well as the final Automated Biometric Identification System cleanup of the voters’ register.
The INEC chairman announced that the nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards would begin on Friday, October 9, 2026, urging eligible Nigerians to participate in the exercise.
The workshop, held at BON Hotel Octagon, Jahi District, Abuja, was themed, “Strengthening Democracy Through Partnership Among Editors, Civil Society and Electoral Institutions.”
Amupitan said the commission was working to strengthen the credibility of the 2027 elections through improved technology and closer engagement with stakeholders.
He said INEC would continue to improve the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the INEC Result Viewing Portal to ensure that votes were properly accredited, counted and transmitted for public viewing.
The INEC chairman, however, identified public trust as the biggest factor that would determine whether Nigerians accepted the outcome of the elections.
“The ultimate arbiter of electoral integrity is public trust,” Amupitan said.
He stressed that efficient election management by INEC alone could not guarantee democratic stability, calling for stronger collaboration between the commission, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.
Amupitan said INEC was ready to listen to concerns from newsrooms, address operational challenges and provide timely information to prevent misinformation from filling communication gaps during the election period.
He urged media organisations to establish digital fact-checking desks to tackle misinformation and pledged to provide editors with direct access to the commission for the verification of incidents, logistics and security-related developments during the elections.
He also proposed a sustained editorial feedback mechanism between INEC and the Nigerian Guild of Editors to monitor the commission’s preparations and address emerging challenges throughout the 2027 election cycle.
Earlier, the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Eze Anaba, described the workshop as timely, noting that Nigeria was gradually approaching another general election.
Anaba said elections were not only about voting but also about ensuring that citizens had confidence that their votes would count and that electoral institutions would operate fairly and professionally.
He urged editors to uphold accuracy, fairness, balance and public interest in their coverage of the 2027 elections, while calling on INEC to ensure that journalists had access to credible and timely information.
