By Nkechi Eze
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that a total of 69,376 Nigerians successfully completed online pre-registration in the first seven hours of the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which commenced on Monday, 18 August 2025.
According to a statement issued by National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Okumekun, the online registration portal became active at 8:30 a.m. and by 3:30 p.m., thousands of eligible citizens had already taken advantage of the platform. Of the 69,376 pre-registrations recorded, 33,803 (48.7 per cent) are male while 35,573 (51.3 per cent) are female. The Commission further disclosed that young adults aged between 18 and 34 account for 48,033 (69.2 per cent) of the total figure.
INEC reiterated that the online registration portal, https://cvr.inecnigeria.org, is available 24 hours a day and encouraged eligible Nigerians to take advantage of the service to begin their voter registration process.
The Commission also announced that the in-person option of the CVR will commence on Monday, 25 August 2025 at its 811 State and Local Government offices nationwide. The in-person registration will take place from 9.00am to 3.00pm, Mondays to Fridays, to enable individuals who prefer physical registration as well as online pre-registrants who need to complete their registration to do so.
INEC stated that both the online and in-person registration options will continue concurrently throughout the duration of the exercise, in line with the schedule earlier released by the Commission. Beginning next week, INEC will provide weekly updates on the CVR, including a detailed breakdown of registrations by state, gender, age, occupation and disability.
The Commission reminded the public that voter registration is open only to Nigerian citizens who are at least 18 years old and who have not previously registered. It warned that double or multiple registration constitutes an offence under the law. However, inter-State or intra-State transfer of registration and the replacement of lost or damaged voter cards are permitted during the CVR.
INEC called on all eligible Nigerians to participate in the exercise and ensure they are registered to vote in future elections.
