The National Register of Voters has risen to more than 103 million, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acquiring 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at a Strategic Workshop for Editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in collaboration with the commission.
Amupitan said the development formed part of the commission’s efforts to strengthen the technological and operational framework for the elections scheduled for January and February 2027.
He said the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise produced 10,772,421 new registrations, subject to the conclusion of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) verification.
According to him, Phase One of the CVR, conducted between August 25 and December 10, 2025, recorded 2,611,266 new registrants, while Phase Two, held from January 5 to April 17, 2026, produced 4,121,835 registrations.
He added that the third phase, conducted between May 11 and July 26, 2026, recorded 3,867,997 new registrations.
Following the completion of the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections and the final ABIS clean-up, Amupitan said the national register now contained more than 103 million voters.
He also announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would commence on Friday, October 9, urging the media to intensify public enlightenment on collection centres and encourage registered voters to collect their cards.
On technology, the INEC chairman said the commission had acquired 57,000 new BVAS machines and subjected its existing technological infrastructure to software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration.
He said the measures were designed to strengthen voter accreditation, prevent bypass of biometric verification and reduce opportunities for manual manipulation during the elections.
Amupitan also disclosed that the commission had enhanced the eEC8A result management system, under which polling unit result sheets would be digitised, cryptographically authenticated and uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
He said INEC was equally deploying artificial intelligence-based anomaly detection tools to monitor database traffic and protect its public portals against cyberattacks and unauthorised alterations.
The chairman said the technological upgrades were necessary to reinforce public confidence in the electoral process, warning that technological improvements alone would not guarantee credible elections without transparency and public trust.
He said the 2027 elections were now only 101 days away, stressing that the credibility of the process would depend on sustained cooperation among INEC, the media and civil society organisations.
Amupitan urged editors to play a more active role in combating misinformation and disinformation, particularly as the election season intensifies.
He warned that deepfakes, manipulated audio-visual materials, coordinated fake news campaigns and premature declaration of election results could undermine public confidence and threaten democratic stability.
He called on news organisations to strengthen fact-checking and verification mechanisms and to cross-check sensitive electoral information with official sources before publication.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission had begun nationwide readiness assessments, with physical audits already completed in the South-West and North-West geopolitical zones.
He said the assessments covered electoral facilities, secure storage, security protocols and logistics deployment networks, with the remaining four zones to be assessed subsequently.
Amupitan further warned political parties and candidates against vote-buying, electoral violence and hate speech, saying the commission would work with security and anti-corruption agencies to monitor illegal campaign financing and financial inducement of voters.
He assured Nigerians that INEC had no preferred candidate or political party, declaring that its sole objective was to deliver free, fair, transparent and credible elections.