The Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has issued a sharp warning that the nation’s persistently low voter turnout poses a grave threat to the legitimacy of its democratic governance.
Professor Amupitan delivered his remarks on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Stakeholders Forum, emphasising that the alarming rate of voter apathy could erode the integrity of future elections.
The electoral commission head declared that while technology is crucial, it cannot solve the problem of public disengagement alone.
Speaking at the forum themed “Securing Nigeria’s Democracy: Building Consensus for Credible Elections and Accountable Governance,” Professor Amupitan referenced the 2023 General Elections, which recorded a turnout of just over 27% of registered voters.
He called this figure a "stark reminder" that institutional measures must be paired with broader civic mobilisation to reverse the trend. INEC is reportedly determined to address this pattern ahead of the next general elections.
The Chairman pointed to recent success in Anambra State as a roadmap for future efforts. Following an intervention that proactively extended the collection window for Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) across the state, the percentage of collected PVCs rose dramatically.
The collection rate climbed from an initial 63.9% to an "impressive 98.80% of registered voters" before the off-season governorship election. Professor Amupitan stressed that this feat demonstrates the potential results when voters are actively encouraged to both register and collect their cards, calling consensus and partnership with civil society and the media "indispensable."
Nigeria has recorded a steady decline in voter participation since the return to democratic rule in 1999. The 2003 general elections saw the highest recorded turnout at 69.1% of registered voters.
This rate has continuously dropped in subsequent cycles: 43.7% in 2015, 34.7% in 2019, and the record low of 27.1% in 2023. This continuous reduction in participation places Nigeria, Africa’s most populous democracy, among countries with the lowest voter turnout globally.
In response to the identified threat, INEC has sustained its determined commitment to the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. This process is deemed vital for ensuring the integrity and completeness of the national register.
The INEC Chairman confirmed that the mobilisation drive has yielded encouraging results nationwide. As of the commission’s most recent update, the CVR exercise recorded a nationwide total of 2,685,725 completed registrations.
Of this figure, 1,576,137 individuals completed the online pre-registration, while 1,109,588 finalised their registration through physical capture. Osun State currently leads the nation in new registrations with 208,357, followed by Kano (159,669), Sokoto (152,650), and Imo (145,561).
