North-West Leads Voter Register as INEC Raises Security and Funding Concerns

By George Omagbemi

The North-West has emerged as Nigeria’s largest voting bloc ahead of the 2027 general elections, with 25.08 million registered voters, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and police have raised concerns over security and funding as preparations enter the final phase.

INEC’s latest register puts the national number of registered voters at 103,428,715, following the completion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and biometric clean-up. The North-West accounts for 25,083,411 voters, or about 24.25 per cent of the national register.

The South-West follows with 19,614,274 voters, while the North-Central has 16,965,787. The South-South has 15,823,550, the North-East 13,965,475 and the South-East 11,976,218.

At state level, Lagos leads with 7,488,633 registered voters, followed by Kano with 6,570,276, Kaduna with 4,662,640 and Katsina with 3,876,051.

However, INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan said the size of the election also presents significant logistical and financial demands.

Amupitan has called for the prompt release of the commission’s outstanding budgetary allocations, warning that adequate funding is necessary for procurement, personnel, logistics, technology and other preparations required for the polls.

Security remains another major concern. The Nigeria Police Force said security clearance operations are ongoing in parts of Kogi, Niger, Benue and Taraba, as authorities assess areas considered vulnerable ahead of the elections.

INEC has also identified vote-buying, election-related misinformation, deepfakes, security challenges and possible logistical difficulties among the issues that could affect the electoral process.

The commission plans to deploy 57,000 additional BVAS devices and about 1.41 million ad hoc personnel for the 2027 elections. Nationwide collection of newly issued PVCs is scheduled to begin on October 9, 2026.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, followed by the governorship and State Assembly elections on February 6.

With more than 103 million voters now on the register, INEC and security agencies face the combined task of protecting the electorate while ensuring that the financial and logistical requirements of the elections are fully met.