The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says Nigeria’s national voters’ register has risen to more than 103 million ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday at a strategic workshop for editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors in collaboration with the commission in Abuja.
Amupitan said the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise produced 10,772,421 new registrations, which were subjected to verification through the Automated Biometric Identification System.
He said the commission had completed the final biometric cleanup of the preliminary register, bringing the national register to over 103 million voters.
The INEC chairman also announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards would begin on Friday, October 9, 2026.
He said Phase One PVCs had been processed and distributed to all local government centres, urging registered voters to collect their cards promptly.
Ahead of the elections, INEC has acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices.
Amupitan said the devices had undergone software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration to strengthen accreditation and prevent manual manipulation.
He said INEC was targeting simultaneous commencement of voting at all polling units nationwide on election day, adding that the commission was improving its logistics, personnel and technology based on lessons from recent off-cycle elections.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6.
Amupitan also warned political parties and candidates against vote-buying, saying INEC had strengthened its collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, EFCC, ICPC and NFIU to monitor illegal campaign spending.
He said anyone found engaging in vote-buying would face arrest and prosecution under the Electoral Act 2026.
The commission also plans to use an enhanced electronic EC8A system to digitise, cryptographically authenticate and upload polling unit result sheets directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.
Amupitan said INEC had completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities in its revised timetable and was working towards the ninth milestone.
He urged the media to prioritise factual reporting and verified information ahead of the 2027 elections, saying accurate reporting would help strengthen public trust in the electoral process.
