By Ameh Gabriel
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced significant progress in the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), with over 2.6 million Nigerians registering both online and in-person within the first two weeks of the exercise.
According to a statement by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, the online pre-registration exercise, which began on Monday, 18th August 2025, has already attracted 2,532,062 applicants as of Sunday, 31st August 2025.
INEC disclosed that of this number, 1,218,482 (48.12%) are male while 1,313,580 (51.88%) are female. Youths between the ages of 18 and 34 account for the majority, with 1,602,484 (63.29%), while 647,528 (25.57%) are students.
The Commission reminded online registrants that the process is incomplete until they appear physically at one of INEC’s 811 State and Local Government offices nationwide for biometric capture. “Without this step, the online registration remains invalid,” the statement stressed.
On the in-person registration, which commenced on Monday, 25th August 2025, INEC reported that 72,274 citizens had either completed their pre-registration or registered afresh within the first five days, ending Friday, 29th August 2025. Out of this figure, 35,622 (49.29%) were male and 36,652 (50.71%) female. Again, the majority were youths, with 54,718 (75.71%) between the ages of 18 and 34, while 30,953 (42.83%) were students.
The Commission noted that detailed graphic breakdowns of registrations by state, gender, age, occupation, and disability have been uploaded to its official website and platforms for public access.
INEC commended Nigerians for their enthusiastic participation in the CVR exercise and acknowledged the support of organisations mobilising civic engagement across the country.
