Nigeria's voter register passes 103 million as INEC sets 9 October for nationwide collection of voter cards

5 October 2026

The Independent National Electoral Commission has recorded over 103 million registered voters, its chairman Professor Joash Amupitan said at a workshop with the Nigerian Guild of Editors in Abuja. New registrations across three phases of Continuous Voter Registration totalled 10,772,421, subject to verification through the commission's automated biometric identification system. Phase I, from 25 August to 10 December 2025, drew 2,611,266 registrations; Phase II, from 5 January to 17 April 2026, drew 4,121,835; and Phase III, from 11 May to 26 July 2026, drew 3,867,997. The chairman announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards would commence on Friday, 9 October 2026, with newly produced cards distributed to Local Government Area collection centres, and the commission has introduced printable PVC technology to shorten waiting times. The preliminary display of the register for claims and objections was set for 9 to 15 October 2026. The commission has completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities in its election timetable and has acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines.