ABUJA: The Independent National Electoral Commission has disclosed that Lagos, Kano and Kaduna have the highest number of registered voters ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ meeting and press conference in Abuja, where he presented an update on the nation’s voter register.
According to Amupitan, the register now contains 103,428,715 registered voters following the completion of the commission’s three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise and subsequent biometric verification and clean-up.
Lagos Leads With 7.48 Million Registered Voters
Lagos State tops the national ranking with 7,488,633 registered voters, followed by Kano State with 6,570,276 and Kaduna State with 4,662,640.
The other states in the top 10 are Katsina, Rivers, Oyo, Delta, Benue, Ogun and Bauchi.
INEC’s figures show the ranking as follows:
- Lagos — 7,488,633
- Kano — 6,570,276
- Kaduna — 4,662,640
- Katsina — 3,876,051
- Rivers — 3,736,434
- Oyo — 3,588,111
- Delta — 3,525,988
- Benue — 3,057,225
- Ogun — 3,037,981
- Bauchi — 3,012,547
The three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise recorded 10,772,421 new registrations before the final biometric verification and cleaning of the voters’ register.
PVC Collection Begins October 9
INEC has scheduled the nationwide collection of newly issued Permanent Voter Cards to begin on October 9, 2026.
The commission also announced that the voters’ register would be displayed for public scrutiny from October 9 to October 15, in line with Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026.
The exercise will give registered Nigerians an opportunity to examine the register and raise claims or objections ahead of the 2027 elections.
States With the Fewest Registered Voters
At the lower end of the ranking, Ekiti has 1,055,708 registered voters, making it the state with the smallest number on the register.
Bayelsa follows with 1,200,691, while the Federal Capital Territory has 1,732,043 registered voters.
Ondo recorded 1,733,641, while Gombe has 1,768,560 registered voters.
Male Voters Slightly Outnumber Female Voters
INEC’s demographic breakdown shows that male voters remain slightly higher in number than female voters.
The commission recorded 53,528,218 male voters, representing 51.75 per cent of the register, while female voters account for 49,900,497, representing 48.25 per cent.
Voters aged between 35 and 49 constitute the largest age group, with 43,265,946 registered voters, representing 41.83 per cent.
Those aged 18 to 34 account for 29,777,576 voters, or 28.79 per cent, while voters aged between 50 and 69 number 22,982,900, representing 22.22 per cent.
Voters aged 70 and above constitute the smallest age category, with 7,402,291, or 7.16 per cent of the register.
The commission also recorded 232,658 persons with disabilities across 10 categories, representing approximately 0.23 per cent of the total voter register.
The largest category was classified as “others”, accounting for 101,183 voters, followed by persons with albinism at 44,023 and those with physical impairment at 27,141.
The register also includes voters with visual and hearing impairments, autism, cognitive or learning disabilities, limb impairment, Down syndrome and spinal cord injuries.
With the 2027 general elections approaching, the commission has urged voters to take advantage of the forthcoming public display of the register to verify their details and raise any necessary objections before the electoral process progresses further.
