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Deep Dive3 January 2025

How to Register to Vote in Nigeria

INEC conducts Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) online and at designated centres across Nigeria. You must be 18+, a Nigerian citizen, and not serving a prison sentence. Your Permanent Voter Card (PVC) must match your polling unit to vote.

Voter registration in Nigeria runs through INEC's Continuous Voter Registration system, combining online pre-enrolment with in-person biometric capture and verification.

Basic eligibility

To register, you must be a Nigerian citizen, at least 18 years old, ordinarily resident in the country, and not disqualified by law from voting.

Registration process

INEC usually asks applicants to begin online and then complete the process at a designated centre where fingerprints, photographs, and supporting details are captured. Registration can also cover transfers, corrections, or replacement requests in specific windows.

PVC and polling unit rules

Your Permanent Voter Card is tied to a polling unit. That means a successful registration is only useful on election day if your details and assigned polling unit are current and correctly reflected in the official register.