INEC: Osun in the lead as applications for voter registration exceed 7m

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has received over seven million applications in the continuous voter registration (CVR) exercise.

In June 2021, the commission launched a portal where Nigerians can register or request to update their voter information before they complete the process physically at designated centres.

According to data released by the commission on Monday, the number of new registrants has risen to 7,009,343.

The data shows that Osun is in the lead with 638,735 applications, followed by Borno with 336,427, and Zamfara with 282,941.

After including those requesting voter transfer, requests for replacement of permanent voter cards (PVCs) and update of voter information record, the total figure stands at 12,097,240 applications.

The commission gave the number of registrants who had completed their registration as 4,009,361, out of which 2,009,469 are male and 1,999,892 are female.

According to INEC, youths aged between 18 and 35 constitute the highest number of completed registrations with a total of 2,774,823.

Osun state is also in the lead for the number of completed registrations with 278,835.

The increase in Osun comes amid the upcoming governorship election scheduled for July 16.

INEC had said both the online pre-registration and physical registration will subsist simultaneously until the CVR exercise is suspended on June 30, 2022.