The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained that the decline in the percentage of young Nigerians on the country’s voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general election is largely due to changes in the age categories of previously registered voters.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN), gave the explanation on Tuesday, November 3, during the grand finale of the commission’s Campus Debate held at the Law Theatre of the University of Abuja.
Amupitan disclosed that young Nigerians currently account for 29.79 per cent of the voters’ register under review, compared with 39.65 per cent recorded during the 2023 general election.
He, however, dismissed suggestions that the decline necessarily reflected reduced interest in elections among young Nigerians.
According to him, many individuals who were classified as youths during the 2023 elections have since moved into older age brackets, accounting for the difference in the statistics.
“Some questions have been asked, why has the number reduced compared to what we have in 2023? But the truth of the matter is that there has been progressive migration of the categories of persons that were youth in 2023, they have now migrated into different age groups,” he said.
The INEC chairman added that the current voters’ register was still being reviewed through the claims and objections process.
During the 2023 general election, Nigeria had 37,060,399 registered voters between the ages of 18 and 34, representing 39.65 per cent of the country’s 93.4 million registered voters.
Amupitan explained that the commission organised the campus debate as part of efforts to tackle voter apathy among young Nigerians and improve their understanding of the country’s electoral system.
“Our plan is to catch them young,” he stated.
He recalled that previous interactions with students revealed significant gaps in their knowledge of electoral matters, including their inability to identify the chairman of the electoral commission.
“When they ask who is the INEC chairman, unfortunately none of them could get it,” he said.
At the competition, the University of Jos emerged overall winner, while Bayero University, Kano, finished in second position.
The University of Ibadan came third, with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, taking the fourth position.
Amupitan, who is an alumnus of the University of Jos, commended the participating institutions for their performances and praised the judges for what he described as a transparent assessment.
He disclosed that the judges spent considerable time reviewing and calculating the scores, with the assistance of technology, to ensure an accurate outcome.
The INEC chairman also joked that the margin of victory was so clear that none of the participating universities should contemplate challenging the result in court.
He further directed the commission’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity to maintain contact with the finalists, expressing his desire to offer them automatic employment if existing laws permitted.
However, he noted that the students would first need to complete their university education and participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
Amupitan also defended the commission’s electoral record, listing four off-cycle elections conducted since he assumed office.
They include the Anambra governorship election, the February Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, the June Ekiti governorship election and the August Osun governorship election.
He noted that the Anambra and Osun governorship elections, which had previously ended inconclusively, were concluded under the commission’s supervision.
On women’s participation in politics, the INEC chairman said the commission had a dedicated gender and inclusivity department but acknowledged that Nigeria lacked legislation guaranteeing equal representation of women in elective political positions.
