By Gabriel Ameh
Nigeria’s National Register of Voters has risen to more than 103 million ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at a strategic workshop with media executives organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in collaboration with the commission.
The workshop, themed “Strengthening Democracy Through Partnership Among Editors, Civil Society and Electoral Institutions,” focused on the role of the media, civil society and electoral institutions in strengthening public confidence ahead of the elections.
Amupitan said the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise attracted 10,772,421 new registrants, subject to final verification.
According to him, the first phase recorded 2,611,266 new registrations, while the second and third phases recorded 4,121,835 and 3,867,997 respectively.
He said the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup had been completed, with the preliminary display of the voters’ register for claims and objections scheduled for October 9 to 15, 2026.
“Following the conclusion of our three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which captured over 10.6 million new applicants, our Voter Register Department has completed the final Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup. Nigeria’s National Register of Voters is now over 103 million,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chairman also announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) would begin on Friday, October 9, with newly produced cards to be distributed to Local Government Area collection centres.
He said INEC had introduced printable PVC technology to reduce delays in obtaining voters’ cards and help prevent eligible voters from being disenfranchised, including those whose cards had been lost or stolen.
INEC acquires 57,000 new BVAS
Amupitan said the commission had strengthened its technological infrastructure ahead of the elections with the acquisition of 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines.
He explained that INEC was improving existing electoral technologies rather than introducing untested systems shortly before the 2027 polls.
The commission, he said, was also deploying an upgraded BVAS, an enhanced electronic result management system and other technologies aimed at ensuring that every valid vote counts and is properly accounted for.
INEC has also introduced an enhanced eEC8A form designed to digitise and cryptographically authenticate polling-unit results before they are uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
Amupitan added that artificial intelligence-driven systems were being deployed to detect unusual database traffic and strengthen cybersecurity around the electoral process.
Joint team to monitor campaign spending
The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission was working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to monitor campaign financing.
He said a joint financial monitoring mechanism would track suspicious and illegal campaign expenditure, while surveillance would be strengthened around polling units.
Amupitan warned politicians and their agents that violations of the Electoral Act would attract arrest and prosecution.
“Elections must be decided by the conviction of the voter, not the depth of a candidate’s pocket,” he said.
INEC warns against social media misinformation
Amupitan also raised concerns over the growing use of social media to spread false information ahead of elections.
He described malicious disinformation as “citizenship terrorism through social media”, warning that fabricated reports could suppress voter turnout, create panic and undermine otherwise credible elections.
He cited instances where old photographs, manipulated images and fabricated reports had been presented as current election-related events.
According to him, a false report during the Federal Capital Territory elections claimed that members of the National Youth Service Corps had been killed, creating the impression that Abuja was engulfed in violence.
He said investigations later established that the report was false.
The INEC chairman urged journalists and editors to take time to verify information before publication, particularly as deepfakes, manipulated audio-visual materials, coordinated fake news and premature declarations of unofficial results become growing concerns.
INEC steps up election preparations
Amupitan said INEC had completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities contained in its 2027 election timetable, describing the preparations as having entered the “amber zone” as the election countdown intensifies.
He said the commission’s early-warning mechanism under the Inter-Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) was monitoring political violence, thuggery and inflammatory rhetoric.
Readiness audits had also been completed in the South-West and North-West geopolitical zones, covering state offices, storage facilities, security arrangements and logistics.
He added that early procurement and distribution of non-sensitive electoral materials had commenced.
On electoral personnel, Amupitan said all electoral officers and temporary staff would be required to take an oath of neutrality under Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026.
He warned that INEC would maintain zero tolerance for partisanship, negligence and compromised ethical conduct among its personnel.
NGE calls for credible elections
Earlier, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Eze Anaba, called for credible and transparent elections that would allow voters, rather than the courts, to determine electoral outcomes.
Anaba said elections were not simply about casting ballots but also about building citizens’ confidence that their votes would count and that electoral institutions would act fairly and professionally.
He said democracy could not thrive without a strong electoral body and an electoral process that was both fair and transparent and perceived by citizens to be so.
The Executive Director of the Centre for Media and Society, Akin Akingbulu, called for stronger verification mechanisms in newsrooms and greater transparency from INEC.
He noted that verification was a two-way process, arguing that news organisations could not effectively verify information that institutions failed to make available.
The Executive Director of the International Press Centre, Lanre Arogundade, also stressed the need for timely and transparent communication from INEC.
He warned that information gaps could create room for speculation, while prolonged silence could allow false information to fill the vacuum.
INEC’s Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, said editors remained key gatekeepers of electoral information and that direct engagement with newsrooms had become a priority for the commission.
He said the workshop was designed to strengthen institutional trust, combat information disorder through fact-checking and promote shared responsibility for credible elections.
The Director of Voter Education and Publicity at INEC, Victoria Eta-Messi, said the engagement would help align media leadership with the commission’s operational roadmap.
She urged editors to provide citizens with timely and accurate electoral information, noting that misinformation and disinformation could undermine efforts to increase voter participation.
Source: Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
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