INEC Releases North-East Voter Figures As Nigeria Records Over 103 Million Registered Voters

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that the North-East geopolitical zone has 13,965,475 registered voters, representing 13.51 per cent of Nigeria’s total registered voter population of more than 103 million.

According to Bush Radio Academy, INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, announced the figures during an assessment visit to Gombe State aimed at evaluating the preparedness of electoral officials and identifying operational challenges across the six states in the region ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan explained that the voter statistics were derived from the commission’s data-cleaning exercise following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

The assessment brought together national commissioners, resident electoral commissioners from the six North-East states and other senior officials for discussions with field personnel on their level of preparedness for the forthcoming elections.

The INEC chairman said the visit formed part of the commission’s strategy to engage directly with electoral officials nationwide, assess operational readiness, identify gaps and strengthen preparations for the 2027 polls.

He explained that the nationwide assessment tour began in Lagos on September 7, 2026, covering the South-West region. The exercise subsequently moved to Kaduna on September 28 for the North-West assessment and Enugu on October 20 for the South-East, before arriving in Gombe on October 26 to evaluate preparations in the North-East.

Amupitan emphasised that direct engagement with officials responsible for implementing electoral plans at the grassroots was essential to ensuring credible elections.

“The true integrity of an election is not determined in the air-conditioned conference rooms of Abuja; it is forged in the field,” he said.

He further noted that the credibility of an election depends on the preparedness of electoral personnel, the availability and functionality of operational facilities, and effective coordination among officials responsible for conducting the polls.

The assessment is part of INEC’s broader efforts to identify potential challenges and strengthen its operational capacity across the country as preparations continue for the 2027 general elections.