Sokoto Tops Phase II of Voter Registration as INEC Records 18,193 New Voters Nationwide

Sokoto State has registered the most new voters with 2,294 individuals during the initial week of the Phase II Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) initiative, as of January 9, making up 12.61% of the nationwide total. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) revealed this information in its Week One CVR report, which indicated that a total of 18,193 Nigerians had successfully completed their registration either online or in person. Jigawa followed with 1,517 new registrants, closely trailed by Kano with 1,509. Lagos secured the fourth position with 1,486 registrants, while Katsina rounded out the top five with 1,178 individuals registered. Other notable states included Zamfara (1,006), Osun (866), Kebbi (779), Kaduna (724), and Ogun (712). On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ebonyi recorded only 13 new registrants, Abia had 10, and Imo reported a mere two. Anambra saw no registrations during this period, while the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) also reported zero registrations due to the suspension of CVR activities ahead of the Area Council Election scheduled for February 21, 2026. A regional analysis demonstrated that the North West emerged as the top- performing zone, with a total of 9,007 registrations, which is almost half of the national total. This success is attributed to the contributions from Sokoto, Jigawa, Kano, and Katsina. The South West ranked second with 3,970 registrants, bolstered by Lagos, Osun, Ogun, and Oyo. The North East saw 1,956 new registrants, while the South South accounted for 1,686. The North Central had 1,507 registrations, and the South East had the lowest figures nationwide with just 67 new voters. Overall, a significant majority of the registrations came from online pre- registration, which constituted 12,022 of the total, compared to 6,171 physical registrations across the country. INEC confirmed that CVR remains suspended in the FCT, in accordance with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022.