Lagos, Kano and Kaduna states have recorded the highest numbers of registered voters ahead of the 2027 general elections, according to figures released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, disclosed the figures on Tuesday while speaking in Abuja, where he also described Nigeria as Africa’s largest democracy based on its voter population.
According to Amupitan, the commission’s national register now stands at 110 million registered voters, covering the three phases of its voter registration exercise.
He said Lagos leads the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory with 7,488,633 registered voters.
Kano follows with 6,570,276 voters, while Kaduna occupies the third position with 4,662,640 registered voters.
Amupitan listed Katsina as the fourth state with the highest number of registered voters, putting its figure at 3,876,051.
Rivers State comes next with 3,736,434 registered voters, followed by Oyo with 3,588,111 and Delta with 3,525,988.
Benue occupies the eighth position with 3,057,225 registered voters, while Ogun has 3,037,981.
Bauchi completes the top 10 list with 3,012,547 registered voters.
The figures place several of Nigeria’s most populous states at the top of the voter register, while states with smaller voter populations occupy the lower end of the ranking.
Amupitan said the Federal Capital Territory has 1,732,043 registered voters, placing it among the areas with the lowest figures in the register.
Ekiti State has the smallest number of registered voters, with 1,055,708, while Bayelsa follows with 1,200,691.
Yobe has 1,733,641 registered voters, while Gombe recorded 1,768,566.
The INEC chairman also provided a breakdown of the register by gender, showing that male voters constitute the larger share.
He said 53,528,218 registered voters are male, representing 51.75 per cent of the register, while female voters number 49,900,497.
The age distribution, according to the commission, shows that voters between 35 and 49 years form the largest age category.
Amupitan said the group accounts for 43,265,946 registered voters, representing 41.83 per cent of the total.
Voters aged between 18 and 34 years make up the second-largest category, with 29,777,576 people, representing 28.79 per cent.
The commission put the number of registered voters aged 50 to 69 years at 22,982,900, equivalent to 22.22 per cent of the register.
Those aged 70 years and above constitute the smallest age group, with 7,402,291 registered voters, representing 7.16 per cent.
The INEC chairman further disclosed that the register contains 232,658 persons with disabilities spread across 10 disability categories.
The figure, he said, represents roughly 0.2 per cent of the voter register.
The latest figures come as INEC continues preparations for the 2027 elections, following the conclusion of three phases of Continuous Voter Registration.
Earlier in August, Amupitan announced October 9 as the commencement date for the nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards by newly registered voters.
He said the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise had generated 10,772,421 new registrations, subject to verification through the Automated Biometric Identification System.
The INEC chairman also stressed the need to address bottlenecks associated with the distribution of PVCs at the Local Government Area level to prevent eligible citizens from being disenfranchised by logistical challenges.
Amupitan made the call in Kaduna during the North-West Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 general election.
He also disclosed that the commission was refining its technological systems as part of preparations for the election.
According to him, the areas being improved include voter verification and result transmission processes, as well as the commission’s Result Management Systems.
He specifically mentioned the recently introduced eEC8A as part of the systems being refined by the commission ahead of the 2027 polls.
