By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has recorded a total of 3, 441,121 completed registrations in the ongoing second phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

According to the week 13 update released by the commission on Wednesday in Abuja, the figure comprises both online pre-registrations and physical walk-ins at various centres nationwide as at April 3.

The data revealed that 2,068,384 citizens completed their pre-registration online, while 1,372,737 voters opted for physical registration.

It also showed Jigawa leading with 201,047 representing 5.84 per cent of the total registrations; followed by Lagos with 181,095, while Kano State ranked third with 177,681.

The update further showed that participation of youths between ages 18 to 34 accounted for 2,354,768 representing 68.43 per cent of the new registrants.

In terms of gender distribution, females accounted for 1,922,143 representing 55.86 per cent of the total new voter registrants, while male accounted for 1,518,978 representing 44.14 per cent.

The occupational distribution also showed that students represented the largest single block of new voters at 1,235,931 (35.92 per cent), followed by those in business at 701, 912 representing (20.40 per cent) and farming/fishing at 615,967 representing (18.28 per cent).

The data further showed that 48,330 of the new registrants were Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

The commission explained that the 3,441,121 represented preliminary figure pending data clean-up during the period for claims and objections by citizens, followed by the deployment of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).

The commission emphasised that registration remained suspended in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in compliance with Section 9 (6) of the Electoral Act 2022, following the Area Council Election held on Feb. 21.

It, however, advised eligible Nigerians who were yet to register to visit the official portals at https://cvr.inec.gov.ng or https://cvr.inecnigeria.org to do so. (NAN)