The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that out of more than 2.5 million Nigerians who initiated online voter registration, only 72,274 have so far completed the process by appearing in person for biometric capturing.

The figures cover activities up to August 31.

According to INEC’s latest data, Akwa Ibom, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, and Kebbi recorded the highest number of newly registered voters, while Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Osun ranked lowest.

For online pre-registration, Osun, Lagos, Ogun, the FCT, and Borno topped the list, while Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Edo, and Ondo had the least entries.

National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, disclosed after the Commission’s weekly meeting that the online registration, which commenced on August 18, had within two weeks recorded 2,532,062 entries.

A gender breakdown shows that 1,218,482 pre-registrants (48.12%) are male, while 1,313,580 (51.88%) are female. Youths between 18 and 34 years account for the majority with 1,602,484 entries, representing 63.29%, while students make up 647,528 or 25.57%.

INEC described the figures as an encouraging sign of civic engagement, noting that the online portal introduced in 2021 gives Nigerians flexibility to begin registration from anywhere, at any time.

The Commission added that provisions have been made for those without internet access or who prefer physical registration, with staff deployed across its 811 offices nationwide.

Olumekun further confirmed that detailed statistics, including distribution by state, gender, age, occupation, and disability, are now available on INEC’s official platforms.