By Balarabe Oshiafi
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced an impressive start of the nationwide continuous voter registration (CVR), which commenced on monday with the launch of its online pre-registration portal.
According to a release signed by the umpire’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information & Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun and made available to ExpressDay Newspaper, the portal went live at 8:30 a.m. and by 3:30 p.m. just seven hours later no fewer than 69,376 Nigerians had successfully pre-registered.
A breakdown of the figures shows that 33,803 applicants (48.7%) were male, while 35,573 (51.3%) were female. The Commission also noted strong youth participation, with 48,033 applicants (69.2%) aged between 18 and 34 years.
The registration portal, accessible at cvr.inecnigeria.org, will remain available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the exercise.
INEC further disclosed that in-person registration will commence on Monday, 25th August 2025, across its 811 state and local government offices nationwide. The exercise will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. This option is open to citizens who prefer physical registration, as well as to those who need to complete their online pre-registration. Both processes will continue simultaneously for the duration of the CVR, in line with the Commission’s earlier schedule.
From next week, INEC will provide weekly updates on the CVR, including state-by-state breakdowns covering gender, age, occupation, and disability.
The Commission also reminded the public that voter registration is strictly for Nigerian citizens who are at least 18 years old and who have not previously registered. Double or multiple registrations remain illegal. However, registered voters may apply for inter-state or intra-state transfers, as well as the replacement of lost or damaged voter cards, during the exercise.
