Apathy, distrust, and cumbersome processes have been cited as reasons for the South East geopolitical zone’s low participation in the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) being conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
INEC had on Monday disclosed that 1,379,342 Nigerians had registered in the nationwide online pre-registration of voters’ phase of the CVR, which started on August 18 and ended on August 24, 2024.
A state-by-state breakdown of the figures showed that the states from the South East, except Anambra, which is not participating in the exercise because of the forthcoming governorship election, recorded the lowest numbers.
According to the data, 772 prospective voters in Abia, 484 in Enugu, 481 in Imo, and 261 in Ebonyi enrolled for the online pre-registration.
On the other hand, the South West led in the online pre-registration.
Osun has 393,269, Lagos has 222,205, and Ogun has 132,823 prospective voters registered.
They were followed by FCT (North Central) with 107,682; Kaduna (North West), 61,592; Kogi (North Central), 58,546; Kebbi (North West), 35,009; Yobe (North East), 34,888; Kwara (North Central), 33,726 and Delta (South South), 24,421.
Observers said the high number of registrations in the South West is because the region is home to President Bola Tinubu, who will be seeking a second term in 2027; the governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti, which also have the impressive figure of 29,685; and Lagos’ cosmopolitan status.
It has also been argued that the reasonable number of registrants in the FCT is due to its status as the nation’s capital, with people of diverse backgrounds; Kaduna and other northern states due to perceived political consciousness, while Kwara because of ethnic affinity with the South West.
Distrust Is Why South East Lags Behind
Low participation in the CVR in the South East has been attributed to apathy – lack of interest, disbelief in electoral credibility, and the cumbersome process.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP Weekend, a former chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Enugu State, John Nwobodo, said people are afraid that their votes will not count, hence their decision not to participate.
He said, “The online and physical registration processes are not cumbersome, but people don’t have interest in the political process; they feel that it is a waste of time,” Nwobodo stated.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu, Obinna Uwakwe, attributed the situation to the perceived marginalisation of the South East.
He said, “People no longer believe that INEC can conduct a credible election in the country.”
Another politician, Ignatius Okonkwo, attributed the low turnout to the “cumbersome process,” adding that most people in rural areas “find it difficult to do online registration.”
Deputy Speaker Kalu urges participation in S/East
Worried by the low voter registration in the Southeast, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu called on the people of the zone to actively participate in the ongoing CVR organised by INEC.
In a statement during the week by his chief press secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, Kalu expressed concerns over the reports of low turnout of Igbo people in the process so far.
The deputy speaker said the voter exercise is a crucial step in ensuring that the people’s voices are heard.
Decrying the poor statistics, Kalu warned that it could have implications for the region’s ability to influence outcomes of future elections.
He stressed that active participation of the region in the process would enable the people to fully exercise their franchise and choose their right leaders during elections.
Therefore, the deputy speaker encouraged the people to seize the opportunity offered to them by the electoral umpire to visit the registration centres around them and enrol en masse in the ongoing exercise.
“If we want development, we must show we want to be part of the decision-making mechanism, and that starts by preparing to vote and be voted for. Beyond party lines, let the region show our strength by the volume of registered voters from the Igbo nation.
“This is an opportunity to be part of the decision-making mechanism of government. Development is for everyone and democracy has dividends for participation, so let’s participate now”, Kalu said.
ADC, INEC Differ On Figures
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised concerns over what it described as “statistically implausible” figures released by INEC in its first-week report on new continuous voter registrations.
According to the party, the numbers of new registrants from Osun State alone defy both historical patterns and demographic realities, with nearly 400,000 new registrations reportedly completed in just seven days.
In a statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC warned that such suspicious figures, if left unchecked, could undermine confidence in Nigeria’s entire electoral process.
The party called on INEC to explain how it is that in Osun state, one week’s registration exceeded the total number of new voters recorded in the state over the last four years combined, while the South-West zone alone accounted for an extraordinary 67 percent of all pre-registrations nationwide.
“According to INEC’s figures, Osun State alone recorded 393,269 pre-registrations in just one week. To put this in context, Osun added only 275,815 new voters between 2019 and 2023, a period of four years. In other words, Osun has now supposedly registered more people in seven days than it managed to do in an entire electoral cycle of four years.
“Even at its highest point of political mobilisation in 2022, Osun has never produced more than 823,124 votes cast in the governorship election. Now, by some miracle, nearly 20 per cent of all eligible adults in the state have rushed to register. This is not just unusual; it is statistically implausible.”
INEC Defends Figures
However, INEC has allayed the fears expressed by ADC, saying there was nothing extraordinary about the online pre-registration data.
The chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, in a statement, said this year’s registration pattern in Osun is similar to what occurred in June 2021 when the commission launched the online pre-registration for the first time.
He said that within the first 24 hours of launching the portal on June 28, 2021, 59,331 accounts were created, and by the second week on July 12, 2021, a total of 456,909 accounts were active.
“Interestingly, Osun State led with 154,893 pre-registrations at the time. In the third week, 752,011 persons had pre-registered and Osun State was at the front with 232,880.
“By the eighth week on 23rd August 2021, 2,215,832 persons had pre-registered, with Osun State still leading with 365,412. In the 11th week of the exercise on 13th September 2021, 2,953,094 individuals had pre-registered, with Osun State still in the lead with 402,619. By 18th April 2022, a total of 8,271,647 Nigerians had pre-registered, and Osun was ahead of all states with 708,782 registrations.
LEADERSHIP Sunday recalls that the Commission rolled out online voter pre-registration on 18 August 2025, followed by in-person registration on 25 August 2025.
The Commission released the data of online pre-registrations from 18th to 24th August, totalling 1,379,342. In the figures released, Osun State led the pack with 393,269, followed by Lagos State – 222,205. Federal Capital Territory was third with 107,682.
“If the party were proactive enough, a simple search of records already in the public domain would have revealed these facts. The Commission was upfront during the last CVR exercise by releasing the data every week, until it was concluded in 2022,’’ Oyekanmi added.
