The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that more than 3.4 million Nigerians have been added to the voter register in the ongoing second phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
In its week 13 update released on Wednesday in Abuja, the commission said a total of 3,441,121 registrations had been completed as of April 3, combining both online pre-registration and in-person enrolment.
Of the figure, 2,068,384 Nigerians registered through the online platform, while 1,372,737 completed their registration physically at centres nationwide.
A breakdown by states showed that Jigawa State recorded the highest number of registrants at 201,047, accounting for 5.84 per cent of the total. Lagos State followed with 181,095 registrations, while Kano State ranked third with 177,681.
Young Nigerians continue to dominate the exercise, with those aged 18 to 34 making up 2,354,768 registrants, representing 68.43 per cent of the total.
Data on gender participation showed that women outnumbered men, with 1,922,143 female registrants (55.86 per cent), compared to 1,518,978 males (44.14 per cent).
Students emerged as the largest group by occupation, with 1,235,931 registrations, representing 35.92 per cent. This was followed by business owners at 701,912 (20.40 per cent) and those engaged in farming and fishing at 615,967 (18.28 per cent).
INEC also disclosed that 48,330 Persons with Disabilities were captured during the exercise.
The commission, however, emphasised that the numbers are not final, noting that the figure is “a preliminary figure pending data clean-up during the period for citizens’ claims and objections, followed by the deployment of the Automated Biometric Identification System.”
It added that voter registration remains suspended in the Federal Capital Territory due to the Area Council election held on February 21, in line with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022.
INEC encouraged eligible Nigerians who are yet to register to take advantage of the exercise before the deadline by visiting its official platforms.
