The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 177,914 new registrants will be added to the list of eligible voters for the off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states later this year.

The elections are scheduled for September 21 and November 16, 2024, respectively.

Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, revealed in a statement on Monday that Edo State has 119,206 new voters, while Ondo State has 58,708.

These figures, he said, do not include the 8,847 applications for transfer into Edo State and the 3,132 into Ondo State from other states.

Olumekun clarified, "Similarly, they do not include applications for transfer within the two states because they are already captured on the register of voters.

"Nigerians may recall that in our press statement on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, we released the preliminary figures of newly registered voters for the forthcoming Edo and Ondo State governorship elections before the period for claims and objections, followed by the cleaning up of the data using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS). These processes have now been concluded."

He added that the figures of new voters and inter-state transfers are being integrated into the existing register, adding that the commission will release the comprehensive and final register of voters for the 2024 governorship elections in both states in the coming days.

"Meanwhile, the analysis of new voters for Edo and Ondo states, indicating their distribution by local government areas, gender, age, occupation, and disability, has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information," Olumekun also said.

Daily Trust reports that the registered voters in Edo State, according to the electoral umpire as of February 2023, stood at 2,501,081 with 85.1% of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) collected, while those in Ondo State stood at 1,991,344 with 86.9% of PVCs collected.