…Under-50s command 70.6% of electorate, men narrowly outnumber women
By Franklin Adole
Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Rivers have emerged as the five states with the largest registered voter populations in Nigeria as the National Register of Voters climbed to 103.43 million ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The figures, unveiled Tuesday by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, at a World Press Conference and National Stakeholders’ Meeting in Abuja marking 100 days to the elections, show Lagos firmly at the top of the national register with 7,488,633 voters.
Kano follows with 6,570,276 registered voters, Kaduna with 4,662,640 and Katsina with 3,876,051.
Rivers completes the top five with 3,736,434 registered voters, followed by Oyo with 3,588,111, Delta with 3,525,988, Benue with 3,057,225, Ogun with 3,037,981 and Bauchi with 3,012,547.
Together, the top 10 states account for more than 42.5 million voters—about 41 per cent of Nigeria’s entire registered electorate.
At the opposite end, Ekiti has the country’s smallest voter population with 1,055,708 registered voters, followed by Bayelsa with 1,200,691. The Federal Capital Territory has 1,732,043, Yobe 1,733,671 and Gombe 1,768,566.
The figures also underline the numerical weight of younger and middle-aged Nigerians in the 2027 electorate, with more than seven in every ten registered voters below the age of 50.
Voters aged 35 to 49 constitute the largest bloc, numbering 43,265,946, or 41.83 per cent of the register. Those aged 18 to 34 account for another 29,777,578, representing 28.79 per cent.
Combined, the two groups account for more than 73 million voters, or about 70.6 per cent of the electorate.
Those aged 50 to 69 number 22,982,900, representing 22.22 per cent, while voters aged 70 and above constitute the smallest age bracket with 7,402,291, or 7.16 per cent.
The gender distribution is considerably tighter. Male voters number 53,528,218, representing 51.75 per cent of the register, against 49,900,497 female voters, or 48.25 per cent.
Amupitan also disclosed that 232,658 persons with disabilities are captured on the register across ten disability categories.
The INEC chairman announced that the updated register would be displayed nationwide from October 9 to October 15 for claims and objections in accordance with Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026.
Distribution of Phase One Permanent Voter Cards at local government centres will also begin on October 9, while the final voter register is scheduled to be presented to political parties on December 15.
Amupitan also announced an extensive technology integrity exercise ahead of the polls, disclosing that every configured Bimodal Voter Accreditation System device would undergo a six-day nationwide stress test from October 23 to 28.
INEC has acquired 57,000 new BVAS devices as part of preparations for voting across the country’s 176,846 polling units.
According to the chairman, the devices have undergone software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration, while a nationwide inventory audit, activation testing and GPS tracking verification have been concluded.
The October stress test will simulate election conditions and examine the hardware, software, and operational stability of the configured devices before deployment.
INEC will follow this with a nationwide mock accreditation and election simulation in November to test equipment, personnel, and network protocols.
The commission is also integrating automated artificial intelligence auditing tools into its results verification architecture under a five-pillar AI Governance Framework, with Amupitan stressing that the technology would operate under mandatory human oversight.
He said AI-driven anomaly detection tools would be deployed to monitor database traffic and protect INEC’s public portals against cyber intrusions and unauthorised alterations.
On election logistics, Amupitan said INEC had reviewed its arrangements with transport unions, including the National Union of Road Transport Workers, for the mobilisation of more than 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats to move election personnel and materials nationwide.
Special arrangements are being made for difficult terrain in the Niger Delta, Lake Chad Basin, and remote areas of the North-East and North-West, involving speedboats, four-wheel-drive vehicles, and other local transportation.
The commission plans to pre-position non-sensitive materials at local government hubs, while sensitive materials will be moved from Central Bank of Nigeria vaults to LGAs 72 hours before voting.
The materials are expected to reach all 8,838 Registration Area Centres and Super RACs by 4 p.m. on the eve of the election, as INEC targets the commencement of voting at 7:30 a.m. nationwide.
On nominations, Amupitan said 18 of Nigeria’s 22 registered political parties submitted 36 presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Twenty-one parties also sponsored 1,313 senatorial candidates, 3,547 House of Representatives candidates, 936 governorship and deputy governorship candidates, and 9,692 candidates for state Houses of Assembly.
INEC has so far completed nine of the 14 major activities on its timetable for the general elections.
“INEC has moved decisively from planning into execution,” Amupitan said, pledging the commission’s “total commitment to neutrality, operational excellence, and the sacred integrity of the ballot box” as Nigeria enters the final 100 days before the 2027 general elections.
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