THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has captured a total of 93,469,008 eligible voters in its voters register following the final clean-up of double registration and underage voters.
The figure followed the review of 54,264 objections raised by Nigerians following the initial display of the voter register on its website in November 2022.
INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at a meeting with members of political parties at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Yakubu insisted that the 2023 elections would hold as planned as they do not contemplate any adjustment to the election timetable.
He declared, “The 2023 General Election will hold as scheduled. Any report to the contrary is not the official position of the Commission.”
He said the security agencies had repeatedly assured the commission of adequate protection of personnel, materials and processes.
On the demography of the eligible voters, the commission said the total number of eligible voters rose by 9,464,924, or 11.3 per cent, from the 84,004,084 recorded in the 2019 general elections to 93,469,008 eligible voters in 2023.
“Of this cumulative figure, 49,054,162 (52.5 per cent) are male, while 44,414,846 (47.5 per cent) are female,” he said.
On age group distribution, 37,060,399 youths between the age of 18 and 34 constitute the largest population(39.65 per cent), while 33,413,591 (35.75 per cent) are middle-aged persons between the ages of 35 and 49.
In addition, 17,700,270 (18.9 per cent) are elderly voters between the ages of 50 and 69, while 5,294,748 (5.66 per cent) are senior citizens aged 70 and above.
In terms of occupational distribution, students make up the largest category at 26,027,481, or 27.8 per cent, of all registered voters, followed by farmers/fishermen who constitute 14,742,554 or 15.8 per cent of the total population, while 13,006,939 or 13.9 per cent are housewives.
“The data on disability was not collected for previous registration. However, the cumulative figure of 85,362 persons from the recent CVR indicates that there are 21,150 (24.5 per cent) persons with albinism; 13,387 (15.7 per cent) with physical impediment and 8,103 (9.5% per cent) are blind.
Lagos recorded the highest number of voters with 7, 060,195, followed by Kano State with 5,921,370, and Kaduna with 4,335,208 registered voters.
Ekiti State has the least registered voters with 987,647, followed by Bayelsa with 1,056,862, and Yobe with 1,485,146 registered voters.
The INEC chairman reiterated the commitment of the commission to transparent, credible and inclusive 2023 elections.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in the society. You can shoot him a scoop via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.
