As Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 general elections, a significant number of young Nigerians may still be on the sidelines of the electoral process, with 52.1 per cent of respondents in a recent survey across 34 tertiary institutions saying they were not registered to vote. The figure rises to about 59 per cent among respondents aged 18 to 21, pointing to a major gap between Nigeria's large youth population and its participation in formal electoral processes.

The findings were presented at the Next Gen YARN: "Why Youths Matter in the 2027 Elections and What Is Holding Them Back", an online intergenerational conversation hosted by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) through its Next Gen Campus Reporter Project on August 7, 2026. Respondents cited practical barriers including long queues, distance to registration centres, difficulties navigating the INEC portal, poor internet connectivity and website downtime, while distrust in the electoral system also emerged as a major concern.

The survey highlighted various challenges young people faced during the recent voter registration exercise. Some of these challenges were procedural, including long queues and distance to registration centres. Others were digital challenges, such as difficulties using the INEC portal, poor internet connectivity and website downtime. Young people also indicated that they lacked trust in the electoral system.

The survey further highlighted greater transparency in the electoral process, easier voter registration and more youth representation as key motivations to increase youths participation in elections.

To unpack the survey findings, the conversation included a moderated panel discussion, featuring Victoria Eta-Messi, Director, Voter Education and Publicity, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Anuoluwapo Kukoyi, Programme Officer, Africa Division, Yiaga Africa.

Other speakers include Ufuoma Nnamdi-Udeh, Executive Director, Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, Amina Miango, Programme Manager, Accountability Programme, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and Nurudeen Akewushola, a senior investigative journalist at the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).

Expressing her concern about consistent low participation of young people in elections, Ms Kukoyi said further persistence could lead to low representation of youths' interest in governance.

"Young people are not coming out en masse to vote for people that will represent their interests. Their voices are not being heard at that level."

She explained that this could further create a victim mentality among young people, who may believe they have no power to change poor governance and could transfer that mentality to their peers.

"When the masses leave their power, and they say the politicians have selected who they want as representatives, then they don't come out to vote, they feel like they are a victim of the system. And they keep transferring that victim mentality to other groups."

Moving the conversation forward, Ms Miango from CJID, noted that young people's disengagement from elections is linked to different factors, including distrust of electoral institutions, young people's behavioural patterns of wanting things done quickly and easily, and a gap in the kind of civic education programmes targeted at youths.

"Young persons in Nigeria have a very suspicious view of the electoral process. They have a very bad image of what INEC, the judiciary, and the police stand for, and these are major institutions in any elections"

On her part, Ufuoma Nnamdi-Udeh, Executive Director, Enough is Enough Nigeria, highlighted that young people continue to demonstrate low participation despite several advocacy efforts, not necessarily because they lack access to information but because of the level of care they have for the issues.

"At the end of the day, for people who want to engage in governance or engage in elections, there is a big role that the government and the institutions play in awakening that appetite, and I think that is what is missing."

She further emphasised the need for young people to understand civic issues and processes so they can participate effectively.

"When you understand how a democracy works, or a democracy functions, you know that in elections, one person will win. And when that one person wins, it means that the other people will not win. So you will know that you support a candidate, and your candidate does not win, does not mean that you disengage from the process."

She recommended designing more programmes that immerse young people in governance processes.

Representing young people's voices, Nurudeen Akewushola, linked youth participation to the extent to which young people see governance as responding to their needs.

"Greater representation for young people means that people that are representing us are actually implementing changes that are youth-oriented."

Responding to concerns and recommendations from other speakers, Paula Iwenjiora, Deputy Director, Voter Education and Publicity, INEC, noted that the institution is aware that it has a trust deficit with the public and has been actively working to reduce it.

The law has made BVAS, that is Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, and immediate electronic transmission of results mandatory."

She mentioned that INEC had been making several efforts, such as digitising the voter registration process, collaborating with tertiary institutions, establishing INEC clubs in secondary schools and joining conversations on social media platforms where youths are more active, to encourage youth participation.

"Most of the time, voter apathy and people who say their votes do not count is because of false information, and INEC is trying to correct that by being in all those spaces where the youths are."

The conversation emphasised the need for young people to take responsibility and be actively involved in influencing governance and policies.

The conversation comes against the backdrop of Nigeria's low voter turnout in the 2023 elections, with only 26.72% of registered voters participating, highlighting the importance of addressing the barriers that continue to limit youth participation ahead of 2027. So, research this and take the lead from a very important and vital angle for youth.