CVR: INEC records 2.97m voters in phase III

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that as at July 17, 2026, 2,970,957 Nigerians successfully completed the ongoing Phase III Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

The latest week 10 update showed that 970,865 registrants completed the process online, while 2,000,092 completed physical registration nationwide.

Lagos state recorded the highest number of completed registrations with 140,546, followed by Edo with 139,313, Delta with 132,330, Kano with 234,305, Taraba with 113,409, Ebonyi with 111,344 and Sokoto with 109,076.

Other states with high registration figures include Ogun (96,571), Bauchi (96,061), Jigawa (95,592), Kaduna (92,505), Oyo (88,716), Benue (88,840), Imo (88,155), Anambra (87,195), Nasarawa (86,914) and Cross River (86,559).

According to the commission, Osun state recorded no registrations as voter registration remains suspended ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in line with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022.

A breakdown of the demographic data showed that female registrants accounted for 1,561,765 or 52.57 per cent of the total, while male registrants stood at 1,409,192, representing 47.43 per cent.

The youth between the ages of 18 and 34 dominated the registration with 2,003,183 registrants, representing 67.43 per cent of the total.

Registrants aged 35 to 49 accounted for 645,651 (21.73 per cent), those aged 50 to 69 stood at 294,443 (9.91 per cent), while 27,680 persons aged 70 years and above, representing 0.93 per cent, also registered.

INEC further disclosed that students formed the largest occupational group among registrants with 695,026 registrations (23.39 per cent), followed by business owners with 626,523 (21.09 per cent), farmers and fishers with 505,402 (17.01 per cent), housewives with 480,682 (16.18 per cent), artisans with 152,184 (5.12 per cent), traders with 133,834 (4.50 per cent) and civil servants with 74,507 (2.51 per cent).

The commission also reported that 32,361 persons with disabilities (PWDs) registered during the exercise.

Of the figure, 16,430 registrants were classified under other disability categories, 5,396 had albinism, 2,372 had physical impediments, 2,352 were blind, 1,886 had cognitive learning disabilities, 1,599 were deaf, 1,129 had autism, 644 were of little stature, 347 had Down syndrome, while 206 had spinal cord injuries.

INEC noted that the 2,970,957 registrations remain preliminary and are subject to data clean-up through the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to eliminate multiple registrations and other invalid entries before the final voters’ register is produced.