The Independent National Electoral Commission has recorded 2,685,725 completed registrations in the first phase of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which ended on December 10.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Thursday at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room National Stakeholders Forum on Elections in Abuja.

He said the figure comprises 1,576,137 completed online registrations and 1,109,588 completed through physical capture, noting that turnout was highest in Osun, Kaduna, Plateau, Imo, Borno and Lagos, respectively.

Amupitan said, “Since the CVR exercise began on August 18, I am pleased to share the latest data reflecting the nationwide response. As of our most recent updates, the Commission has recorded 2,685,725 completed registrations. Of this figure, 1,576,137 individuals completed their registration online, while 1,109,588 finalised their registration through physical capture.

“Osun State maintains its lead with 208,357 registered voters, followed by Kaduna State with 159,669; Plateau State with 152,650; and Imo State with 145,561. States like Borno (123,835) and Lagos (123,484) also reflect significant participation.

“The crucial exercise was scheduled to conclude its first quarter on December 10, and Phase One was successfully brought to a close yesterday. Beginning December 15, we will commence the next stage, which is the claims and objections period.”

He explained that the claims and objections window, which opens on December 15, will allow citizens to verify and correct entries before the data is consolidated.

While urging civil society groups and citizens to participate actively, he lamented that the voter register had not been “comprehensively cleaned” since 2011.

He said, “I want to appeal to civil society and all stakeholders here to help mobilise citizens to take advantage of this window. Some of the challenges we face stem from low participation in this stage.

“For instance, during our review in Anambra, we assessed a register of 2.8 million voters, yet turnout suggested only about 20 per cent participation. However, it is important to note that our voter register has not been comprehensively cleaned since 2011, meaning several names of deceased persons still appear.

“I do not want to mention specific names, but in Anambra, a prominent leader—known to have died many years ago—was still listed in the register. When someone who passed away 15 years ago, known both locally and internationally, remains on the voter register, it raises concerns about credibility. Statutorily, the claims and objections window is designed to address this.”

According to him, Phase Two of the CVR will begin on January 5, 2026, with registration centres moved closer to wards and communities to address distance and access challenges encountered in Phase One.

On vote buying, the INEC chairman said the commission had reached out to security agencies for updates on individuals arrested for financial inducement during recent elections.

“We have written to the police, the EFCC and others to provide investigation reports on those arrested. INEC can only prosecute; we do not have powers to arrest,” he said, adding that the commission relies on covert and overt security deployments to curb inducement at polling units.

Amupitan said the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the INEC Result Viewing Portal has enhanced transparency, but their performance is often affected by poor network coverage in many polling units.

“A tool like BVAS is only as good as the network it runs on. Achieving real-time upload of results to IReV is still one of our toughest operational battles,” he said.

He recalled a mock accreditation exercise conducted before the Anambra governorship election, where several polling units experienced delays in BVAS uploads due to unstable network service.

He added that while some devices uploaded accreditation figures immediately, others failed because presiding officers operated in areas with weak network signals.

The INEC chairman said the commission is in ongoing discussions with the Nigerian Communications Commission and mobile network operators, and is exploring alternative technologies and system redundancies. However, he emphasised that INEC does not control the underlying telecom infrastructure.

“Someone once asked what happens if a powerful politician convinces a service provider to switch off its service on election day. The truth is that we do not have control over these networks. These are structural issues we must all confront,” he said.

Amupitan added that the commission looks forward to a future where it can operate its own dedicated service infrastructure, but noted that such capacity does not currently exist.

PUNCH Online reports that CVR is a statutory exercise designed to allow eligible Nigerians who have turned 18, or who were previously unregistered, to enrol as voters; it also enables those who have changed residence to transfer their registration records. (The PUNCH)

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