Lagos, Kano, Kaduna top states with most registered voters ahead of 2027 elections

Lagos and Kano states have emerged as the states with the highest number of registered voters ahead of the 2027 general elections, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Lagos tops the national register with 7,488,633 registered voters, followed by Kano with 6,570,276 and Kaduna with 4,662,640.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed the figures on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ meeting and press conference in Abuja while giving an update on the national voters’ register.

According to him, the register now contains 103,428,715 registered voters following the completion of the commission’s three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and biometric clean-up.

Katsina occupies the fourth position with 3,876,051 registered voters, while Rivers State is fifth with 3,736,434.

Oyo follows with 3,588,111, while Delta has 3,525,988 registered voters.

Benue ranks eighth with 3,057,225, followed by Ogun with 3,037,981 and Bauchi with 3,012,547.

The three-phase CVR exercise recorded 10,772,421 new registrations before the final biometric verification and clean-up of the voters’ register.

At the other end of the table, Ekiti has the lowest number of registered voters, with 1,055,708, followed by Bayelsa with 1,200,691.

The Federal Capital Territory has 1,732,043 registered voters, while Ondo and Gombe have 1,733,641 and 1,768,560, respectively.

Male voters lead

The INEC chairman also gave a demographic breakdown of the voters’ register, showing that male voters slightly outnumber females.

“Male voters account for 53,528,218 representing 51.75 percent of the register, while female voters number is 49,900,497. The age profile shows that the register is dominated by voters aged 35 to 49 years, who account for 43,265,946 voters, or 41.83 percent of the total,” Amupitan said.

“Followed by voters aged 18 to 34 years numbering 29,777,576 representing 28.79 percent. Voters age 50 to 69 years account for 22,982,900 or 22.22 percent.

“Those aged 70 years and above are the smallest age group, with 7,402,291 voters representing 7.16 percent.

“The register records 232,658 persons with disabilities (PWD) spread across 10 disability categories. This represents roughly 0.2 percent.”

Meanwhile, INEC said nationwide collection of newly issued Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would commence on October 9, 2026.

The commission also said the voters’ register would be displayed for public scrutiny from October 9 to 15, in compliance with Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026.

Amupitan said the exercise would enable Nigerians to scrutinise the register and raise claims or objections ahead of the 2027 general elections.