By Prevail Inegbenose
Latest figures from the ongoing nationwide voter registration exercise has shown that women are leading the men in the number of Nigerians pre-registered online, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced.
In a statement on Monday, INEC said a total of 4,445,505 Nigerians have pre-registered online since the exercise began on August 18.
According to the Commission, of this figure, 2,304,211 are female, representing 51.83% while 2,141,294, or 48.17%, are male, indicating that women are slightly more active in the early phase of the exercise.
The statement by Sam Olumekun mni National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee disclosed that the gender gap is even wider in the completed registration figures, which combine online and physical enrolment.
As at Friday 12 September, 2025, INEC said the completed online pre-registration and the physical (in-person) registration is 509,929 out of which 229,758 (45.06%) are male and 280,171 (54.94%) are female.
It said in terms of age and occupation, 378,132 (74.15%) are young people between the ages of 18 and 34 while 196,529 (38.54%) are students.
According to INEC, the detailed distribution of both online and completed registrations by state, gender, age, occupation and disability have been uploaded to its website and other official platforms for public information.
“Age demographics reveal that young people continue to dominate the registration drive. Among those who have pre-registered online, 65.79% (2,924,643) are between 18 and 34 years, while 74.15% (378,132) of those who have completed registration fall within the same age group. Students account for 25.02% of online pre-registrants and 38.54% of completed registrations, underscoring the strong engagement of Nigeria’s youth and student population”.
The electoral management body ascribed the unprecedented turnout to increased public awareness and the convenience of the online pre-registration system, which allows eligible voters to start the process before completing it in person.