Nigeria’s voter register nears 100 million ahead 2027 general election, INEC reveals

* Sets to roll out first-of-its-kind, real-time readiness tracker

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

As the 2027 general election inches closer, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed that the Permanent Voter’s card enrolment in the country is nearing 100 million.

The Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Monday, while declaring open a two-day Strategic Operational Workshop for Administrative Secretaries, held at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

Amupitan described Continuous Voter Registration as one of five operational pillars under review at the workshop, alongside logistics and material management, electoral technology, ad-hoc staff optimisation, and financial compliance.

The Commission, Amupitan further said, is set to roll out a first-of-its-kind, real-time readiness tracker that will allow the Commission to monitor election preparations across all 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory instantly, “as the national voter register approaches the historic 100 million mark ahead of the 2027 General Election”.

The INEC Chairman, according to a bulletin signed by the Editor-in-Chief: Mrs. Victoria Eta-Messi,

assured that the workshop would produce a standardised, Excel-based Administrative Secretary Master Operational Tracker Template, linked directly to the Commission’s Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC) dashboard and the Election Project Plan (EPP).

He linked the initiative to the Commission’s drive “to keep the voter register clean and PVC collection seamless as enrolment closes in on 100 million”, describing Continuous Voter Registration as “one of five operational pillars under review at the workshop, alongside logistics and material management, electoral technology, ad-hoc staff optimisation, and financial compliance”.

Prof. Amupitan said the tracker initiative “builds on lessons drawn from recent off-cycle elections, including the Osun State Governorship Election, where disciplined logistics and functioning technology delivered a transparent outcome”.

He said the Commission was now working to replicate that standard nationally, in the six-month window remaining before the 2027 General Election.

In his remarks, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Lagos State, Professor Ayobami Salami, described the workshop as coming at an auspicious time in the Commission’s preparations, and commended the European Union, through the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN), implemented with Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), for supporting the exercise.

Also speaking, the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs Rose Oriaran-Anthony, said the workshop would ensure that the Headquarters and all States operate from the same Election Project Plan, while equipping Administrative Secretaries with updated knowledge of new policies, technology and administrative procedures ahead of 2027.

She said every State delegation was expected to leave the workshop with a logistics risk register, an ad-hoc recruitment and deployment plan, and a stakeholder engagement plan for the next three months, alongside the new tracker template.

The workshop, organised under the auspices of the Office of the Secretary to the Commission with support from DAI-EUSDGN, drew participation from National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, the Director-General of The Electoral Institute, Directors from Headquarters, and Administrative Secretaries from the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory.