“Nigeria’s National Register Of Voters Is Now Over 103 Million” — Amupitan Says PVC Collection Begins Friday, INEC Acquires 57,000 New BVAS

Amupitan made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at a Strategic Workshop for Editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors in collaboration with INEC under the theme, “Strengthening Democracy Through Partnership Among Editors, Civil Society and Electoral Institutions.”

The INEC chairman said the increase followed the conclusion of the Commission’s three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise and the completion of its Automated Biometric Identification System cleanup of the register.

According to him, the first phase of the CVR, conducted in line with Section 10 of the Electoral Act 2026, ran from August 25 to December 10, 2025 and recorded 2,611,266 registrations. The second phase, which ran from January 5 to April 17, 2026, recorded 4,121,835 registrations, while the third phase, conducted between May 11 and July 26, 2026, produced 3,867,997 registrations.

Amupitan said the exercise produced more than 10.6 million new registrations, subject to biometric verification, adding that the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections and the final ABIS cleanup had now been completed.

“Following the conclusion of our three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise — which captured over 10.6 million new applicants — and the completion of the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections, our Voter Register Department has completed the final Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup. Nigeria’s National Register of Voters is now over 103 million,” he said.

He also announced that the nationwide collection of PVCs would begin on Friday, October 9, saying INEC had completed the processing and distribution of Phase I cards to local government centres across the country.

“More importantly, I am using this high-level forum of editors to officially remind the Nigerian public that the nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) will commence in exactly four days, on Friday, 9th October 2026,” Amupitan said.

The INEC chairman explained that the Commission introduced an Online Registration Portal during the third phase of the CVR as part of efforts to reduce barriers posed by distance and time. He said INEC had also introduced printable PVC technology pursuant to Section 18(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, with the aim of ensuring that prolonged delays in obtaining voter cards become a thing of the past.

“Furthermore, we introduced Printable PVC technology in line with Section 18(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 to ensure that waiting months for a card becomes a relic of the past,” he said.

Beyond voter registration, Amupitan outlined a series of operational, technological and security measures being put in place ahead of the 2027 polls.

He disclosed that INEC had acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices, while existing BVAS machines had undergone software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration designed to prevent accreditation bypass and reduce the possibility of manual manipulation.

“The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices have undergone extensive software hardening, battery optimisation, and biometric calibration to prevent accreditation bypass and eliminate manual manipulation. We have acquired 57,000 new BVAS for optimal performance,” he said. The acquisition of the 57,000 devices was also confirmed in reports of Monday’s workshop.

Amupitan said the Commission was also strengthening its result-management architecture through an enhanced eEC8A system, under which polling-unit results would be digitised and uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV, from polling units.

He further disclosed that INEC was integrating artificial intelligence-driven anomaly detection into its systems to strengthen the protection of its digital portals against cyber intrusion and other forms of technological interference.

The INEC chairman warned, however, that technology alone would not guarantee credible elections, pointing to the dangers posed by disinformation, deepfakes, manipulated audio and video materials and the premature declaration of election results.

He urged editors and media organisations to strengthen their fact-checking processes and verify election-related information before publication, proposing a closer working relationship between the Commission and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

Amupitan proposed a three-point compact under which media organisations would establish or strengthen fact-checking desks with direct access to INEC for verification, accredited journalists would receive adequate protection at polling units and collation centres, and the Commission and editors would maintain a periodic feedback mechanism through the 2027 electoral cycle.

On vote-buying, Amupitan declared that INEC would adopt what he described as an uncompromising stance, warning candidates, political parties and their agents that attempts to purchase votes with cash or material inducements could lead to arrest and prosecution.

He said the Commission was strengthening collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to tackle illegal campaign financing and vote-buying.

According to him, joint financial monitoring teams would be deployed to track unlawful campaign expenditure, while undercover surveillance would also be used around polling units.

“The integrity of the ballot box is fatally compromised when a citizen’s vote is treated as a commodity for sale. The Commission is taking an uncompromising stance against vote-buying in all its forms ahead of the 2027 General Election,” Amupitan said.

He added: “To the political actors and their agents: attempt to trade cash or material gifts for votes, and you will face immediate arrest and prosecution under the Electoral Act 2026. Elections must be decided by the conviction of the voter, not the depth of a candidate’s pocket.”

The Commission is also tightening its response to political violence and hate speech through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES. Amupitan said an early-warning framework had been activated to identify and track threats of political violence, intimidation and hate speech.

“Any political party or candidate implicated in inciting violence, disrupting rivals’ rallies, or deploying armed thugs will face direct statutory sanctions and swift prosecution,” he warned.

Amupitan also stressed that INEC would maintain zero tolerance for partisanship among its personnel, noting that electoral officers are required under Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026 to swear an oath of neutrality.

As part of measures aimed at improving staff welfare and insulating personnel from improper inducement, he said the Commission established the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure, CEMBSS, with effect from January 1, 2026, moving its workforce out of the regular Civil Service salary structure. He added that operational overhead allocations to INEC state offices were increased by 150 per cent from July 1, 2026.

On logistics, Amupitan said early procurement and delivery of non-sensitive election materials to state offices had commenced as part of efforts to address the recurring problem of late arrival of election materials.

“To eliminate the perennial challenge of late arrival of polling materials, early procurement and delivery of non-sensitive materials to State Offices have already commenced,” he said.

He added that INEC had procured and begun distributing new operational pick-up vehicles to state offices and Local Government Areas across the country, particularly to improve mobility in difficult terrains. Reports of the Commission’s readiness tour also confirm that the procurement and distribution of the vehicles had commenced.

The Commission has conducted readiness assessments in the South-West and North-West as part of a six-zone exercise intended to identify operational weaknesses and resolve them before the general elections.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.

Amupitan reiterated that INEC had no preferred candidate or political party, insisting that the Commission’s allegiance was to the Constitution, the law and the Nigerian electorate.

“As the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, my commitment to Nigeria is firm: our allegiance is to the Constitution and the law, and our sole obligation is to the Nigerian electorate,” he said.

“We have no preferred candidate, no preferred political party, and no agenda other than guaranteeing a free, fair, transparent, and credible election.”