The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said Monday that the voter register has surpassed 103 million names, a milestone reached after a three-phase registration drive that added more than 10.7 million new applicants ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The announcement by (INEC) came at a closed-door strategic workshop with media executives in Abuja, where INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan outlined the commission’s technological upgrades, security measures and warnings against disinformation and vote-buying as the election countdown intensifies.
INEC said its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, conducted in three phases, attracted 10,772,421 new registrants: 2,611,266 in phase one, 4,121,835 in phase two and 3,867,997 in phase three.
After a final Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup to remove duplicates and invalid entries, the National Register of Voters now stands at “over 103 million,” Amupitan said.
The commission cautioned that the figure remains subject to final verification but indicated that the register is now stable enough for the next statutory step: a preliminary public display for claims and objections scheduled for October 9–15, 2026.
Nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) will begin Friday, October 9, with newly produced cards distributed to Local Government Area collection centres, the INEC chairman said.
To cut waiting times and reduce disenfranchisement for voters who lose or have cards stolen, INEC has introduced a printable PVC technology that allows faster replacement and issuance.
INEC has acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines and opted to upgrade existing systems rather than deploy untested technology close to the election, Amupitan said.
The commission also unveiled an enhanced eEC8A form designed to digitise and cryptographically authenticate polling-unit results before they are uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, a move intended to bolster result integrity.
On cybersecurity, INEC said it is deploying artificial intelligence-driven tools to detect anomalies in database traffic and fortify defenses around its electoral infrastructure.
To curb vote-buying and illegal campaign financing, INEC is working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to monitor campaign spending through a joint financial monitoring mechanism.
The chairman warned that violations of the Electoral Act would lead to arrest and prosecution, adding: “Elections must be decided by the conviction of the voter, not the depth of a candidate’s pocket.”
The Chairman described malicious online disinformation as “citizenship terrorism through social media” and urged editors to verify reports before publication, citing a false claim during the Federal Capital Territory elections that NYSC members had been killed—a report later debunked but which briefly suggested Abuja was engulfed in violence.
He flagged deepfakes, manipulated audio-visual content, coordinated fake news and premature declarations of unofficial results as key risks that could suppress turnout and undermine confidence.
Eze Anaba, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors ( NGE), said elections are “about trust” and called for a process transparent enough that voters, not courts, determine outcomes.
Media and civil society representatives pressed for greater transparency from INEC, arguing that verification is a two-way process that falters when institutions withhold information.
INEC said its early-warning mechanism under the Inter-Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) is monitoring political violence, thuggery and inflammatory rhetoric.
Readiness audits have been completed in the South-West and North-West, with remaining zones to follow, covering state offices, storage facilities, security protocols and logistics.
All electoral officers and temporary staff will be required to take an oath of neutrality under Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026, with the commission vowing zero tolerance for partisanship, negligence or compromised conduct.
Where things stand
With eight of 14 major statutory activities completed, INEC described its 2027 preparations as having entered the “amber zone,” signaling heightened urgency as the election approaches.
The commission’s push combines physical logistics, biometric verification, cryptographic result authentication and AI-enabled cybersecurity—alongside a public appeal to media gatekeepers to help safeguard the process from misinformation.
