The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended its ongoing nationwide continuous voter registration (CVR) exercise in Ekiti and Osun ahead of the governorship elections in both states.
According to NAN, INEC made the announcement in an official data issued on Thursday in Abuja for week one of phase III of the nationwide exercise. Going by INEC’s timetable, the Ekiti and Osun off-cycle governorship elections are scheduled to hold on June 20 and August 15, 2026, respectively.
The commission said the suspension is in line with section 9 (6) of the Electoral Act 2022, which stipulates that the registration of voters, updating and revision of the voters’ register shall stop not later than 90 days before any election.
The data, which captures registration statistics as of May 15, reveals that a total of 149,833 citizens successfully completed their registration across the country during the first week of the current phase.
Of this figure, 94,361 voters completed their pre-registration online, while 55,472 opted for physical registration.
A review of the state performance shows that Kano state recorded the highest number of total registrants in week one, with 13,569 individuals representing 9.06 per cent of the national total.
Conversely, Ebonyi recorded the lowest turnout for the week with only 601 registrants representing 0.40 per cent, followed by Akwa Ibom with 976 representing 0.65 per cent.
Demographic indicators from the week-one report shows that youth between the ages of 18 and 34 dominated the exercise, accounting for 106,836 registrants, representing 71.30 per cent of the total turnout.
While the middle-aged citizens between 35 and 49 years old accounted for 30,219, representing 20.17 percent of the total number, the elderly between 50 and 69 years recorded 11,617 registrants representing 7.75 percent of the total number.
The gender distribution showed a higher turnout among women, with females at 78,317 making up 52.27 percent of the total registrants compared to males, who accounted for 71,516 representing 47.73 percent.
In terms of occupational distribution, students led the registration with 36,676 registrants, making up 24.48 percent of the weekly total.
This is followed by business owners and housewives accounting for 31,365 , representing 20.93 percent and 28,191 showing 18.81 per cent respectively, while farmers and fishermen constituted 7,914 making up 18.63 percent.
The commission also recorded a total of 2,759 persons with disabilities (PWDs) who completed their registration within the week.
INEC urged eligible citizens in the non-affected states to utilize its online portals or visit designated physical registration centres to register before the phase concludes.
