The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that the North Central zone led the northern regions in the online voter pre-registration exercise, while the South West topped across the country.
According to data published on Monday, the North Central, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), recorded 243,768 applications. The FCT accounted for the largest share with 107,682 pre-registrations, followed by Kogi with 58,546.
In the North West, 145,490 applications were recorded across the states, while the North East emerged with the lowest tally in the region at 77,652 registrations, representing just 5.6 per cent of the national total.
However, the South West outperformed all regions nationwide with 848,359 pre-registrations, representing more than 61 per cent of the 1,379,342 applications submitted between August 18 and 24. Osun State led nationally with 393,269 registrations, followed by Lagos with 222,205 and Ogun, 132,823. Oyo recorded 66,951, Ekiti 29,685, and Ondo 3,426.
The South South came second overall with 169,377 applications, while the South East recorded the lowest figures nationwide with 64,696 registrations. Anambra dominated the zone with 62,698, while Abia, 772, Ebonyi, 261, Enugu, 484, and Imo, 481, posted extremely low numbers.
The data revealed that overall, southern Nigeria accounted for 66.2% with 912,432 of the registrations, while the North contributed 33.8% with 466,910.
INEC also revealed that youths aged 18–34 years dominated the exercise with 62.37% (860,286) of applications. Middle-aged voters (35–49 years) followed with 24.76%, while older voters (50–69 years) accounted for 11.41 per cent, and those aged 70 and above represented 1.46 per cent.
In terms of gender, women slightly outnumbered men with 52.04 per cent (717,856) compared to 47.96 per cent (661,486). By occupation, students made up the largest group at 27.15 per cent (374,534), followed by business persons (24.82 per cent) and traders (11.68 per cent).
INEC clarified that the current figures reflect only online pre-registrations. Applicants are required to complete the process at physical registration centres before being added to the official voter register.
The physical Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise commenced at 811 centres nationwide, including all 774 local government area offices and state offices, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday to Friday.
