2027 Elections: North-West Leads Nigeria’s Voter Register with 25m as North Commands 54.16% of Electorate
By Prof Ikhinmwin Osagiede
The North-West geopolitical zone has emerged as the region with the highest number of registered voters in Nigeria, accounting for 25,083,411 voters, representing 24.25 per cent of the country’s national voter register of 103,428,715.
A breakdown of the figures across the six geopolitical zones shows that Northern Nigeria, comprising the North-West, North-East and North-Central zones, has a combined 56,014,673 registered voters, representing 54.16 per cent of the national total.
Southern Nigeria, comprising the South-West, South-South and South-East zones, has 47,414,042 registered voters, representing 45.84 per cent.
The figures indicate that the North has 8,600,631 more registered voters than the South, highlighting the numerical advantage of the Northern region in the country’s electoral demographics.
The South-West ranks second nationally with 19,614,274 registered voters, representing 18.96 per cent of the national total. The zone’s figure is largely driven by Lagos State, which has the highest number of registered voters among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with 7,488,633.
The North-Central zone, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, ranks third with 16,965,787 registered voters, representing 16.40 per cent.
The South-South follows in fourth position with 15,823,550 registered voters, accounting for 15.30 per cent, while the North-East occupies fifth position with 13,965,475 voters, representing 13.50 per cent.
The South-East has the lowest regional figure, with 11,976,218 registered voters, representing 11.58 per cent of the national total.
A state-by-state assessment places Kano second nationally with 6,570,276 registered voters, followed by Kaduna with 4,662,640 and Katsina with 3,876,051.
Rivers State comes fifth with 3,736,434, while Oyo has 3,588,111 and Delta 3,525,988.
Benue, Ogun and Bauchi occupy the eighth, ninth and tenth positions with 3,057,225, 3,037,981 and 3,012,547 registered voters respectively.
Edo State ranks 14th nationally with 2,865,263 registered voters, placing it third among the six South-South states, behind Rivers and Delta.
Within the South-South, Akwa Ibom has 2,566,196 registered voters, Cross River 1,928,978, while Bayelsa has 1,200,691.
At the bottom of the national ranking is Ekiti State with 1,055,708 registered voters, while Bayelsa has the second-lowest figure with 1,200,691.
The regional distribution presents an important electoral landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections, as the numerical strength of registered voters across the geopolitical zones is expected to feature prominently in political parties’ mobilisation, campaign planning and electoral strategies.
However, the distribution of registered voters does not automatically translate into votes cast, as actual electoral outcomes will also depend on voter turnout, PVC collection, voter participation and the ability of political parties to mobilise supporters on election day.
