Massive turnout reflects confidence in electoral process, says INEC
Borno has emerged as the state with the highest number of online pre-registrations in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, displacing Osun from the top spot, as the process enters its sixth week.
According to the latest figures released yesterday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the period from September 22 to 28, 2025, a total of 6,232,673 Nigerians have so far pre-registered online.
Borno recorded 682,805 registrations, representing 10.96 per cent of the total, and the highest by any state so far. Osun, which had consistently led in previous weeks, slipped to second place with 599,363 (9.62 per cent), followed closely by Lagos with 555,442 (8.91 per cent), Kebbi with 472,662 (7.58 per cent), and Ogun with 450,897 (7.23 per cent).
The data also revealed that young Nigerians remain the dominant demographic in the CVR exercise. Of the total pre-registrants, 4,230,715 are youths, aged between 18 and 34, while 1,565,824 are students.
Women continue to outnumber men, with 3,250,338 females (52.15 per cent) pre-registering, compared to the 2,982,335 males (47.85 per cent).
In addition, INEC hinted that 137,865 persons with disabilities (PWDs) have also pre-registered online, reflecting growing inclusion in the electoral process.
Meanwhile, statistics for completed registrations, combining online and physical enrolments between September 22 and 26 (week five) indicated that 1,004,132 Nigerians have completed the process. Out of this figure, 537,743 were completed online, while 466,389 were captured physically at INEC registration centres across the federation.
The electoral umpire has, however, said the impressive turnout reflects citizens’ confidence in the nation’s electoral process. Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, told newsmen that Nigerians are actively taking advantage of the CVR to contribute to electoral reforms, contrary to claims of declining public trust in the electoral process.
“The notion that Nigerians have lost confidence in the electoral process is more of a myth than reality, as those who proclaim it lack convincing evidence. On the contrary, the high level of participation, especially among youths, in the CVR, which began on August 18 with online pre-registration, proves otherwise,” he said.
According to Oyekanmi, when the CVR portal went live at 8:30 am on August 18, a total of 69,376 Nigerians had pre-registered within just seven hours — comprising 33,803 males (48.7 per cent) and 35,573 females (51.3 per cent).
“By August 24, just a week later, a total of 1,379,342 had pre-registered online. If the Commission had allowed the CVR to be completed online, that figure would have subsisted,” he added.
Oyekanmi continued: “However, all those who pre-registered online must complete their registration by physically appearing at their preferred designated centre to have their biometrics and other details captured, in compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, specifically Sections 9(7) and 10(2).”
