The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has registered 93,220 new voters in Edo state ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Obo Effanga, the resident electoral commissioner in the state disclosed this on Friday during a news conference in Benin city while unveiling the timetable for the final phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
Effanga said the final phase of the exercise would begin on May 11 and end on July 10 across the 18 local government areas of the state.
According to him, INEC has deployed two voter enrolment devices to each local government area and released schedules indicating registration venues and dates for all wards.
“We are going to follow the schedule strictly. If on a given date we say we are going to be in a specific place and you do not find our people there, please let us know,” he said.
The REC explained that the 93,220 registrations were recorded during the first two phases of the exercise conducted between August 2025 and April 2026.
He, however, noted that the figures would still be subjected to screening to eliminate cases of multiple registration and ineligible applicants before being added to the official voters register.
Effanga said Edo had 2,629,025 registered voters as of the last governorship election in the state.
He urged eligible Nigerians, particularly youths who recently turned 18, to take advantage of the exercise and avoid last-minute registration.
“The time to register is now. Nigerians have the tendency to wait until the end and later complain that they did not have the opportunity,” he said.
The REC reiterated that only Nigerians who are at least 18 years old at the time of registration are eligible to register and vote.
He also disclosed that residents seeking transfer of voting locations, correction of personal details or replacement of Permanent Voter Cards could process their requests online through INEC’s voter portal.
Effanga assured that new PVCs generated from the current registration exercise would be ready before the 2027 general elections.
He attributed Edo’s relatively lower registration figures compared to some other South-South states to the multiple voter registration opportunities conducted in the state before the 2024 governorship election.
