Ahead of the 2023 elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said Nigeria had 93,469,008 eligible voters, with 37,060,399 — or 39.65 per cent — young people (aged between 18 and 34). The numbers reflected the enthusiasm many young Nigerians displayed online, especially around the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, raising expectations that the election would reverse years of declining voter participation.

#CVR Week Fourteen:

Completed Online & Physical Registration as at 5th December 2025:
📍 Total number of completed online & physical registration: 2,685,725
📍 Completed online pre-registration: 1,576,137
📍 Physical registration: 1,109,588
📍 Females: 1,508,559 (56%)
📍 Males:… pic.twitter.com/Fhz2kTc3jO

— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) December 8, 2025

Instead, the 2023 presidential election recorded the lowest turnout in Nigeria’s history. Only 24,965,218 people voted, representing 26.72 per cent turnout, down from 35.66 per cent in 2019 and 43.65 per cent in 2015. While there is no clear data on how many young people eventually voted, available figures suggest that more than 12 million young registered voters did not cast their ballots.

As attention shifts to 2027, early voter registration figures again point to strong youth interest. At the end of the first phase of INEC’s Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) on December 5, 2025, young people accounted for 73.53 per cent of 2,685,725 new voters. Though INEC did not provide a final age breakdown for the second phase, its February 13, 2026 update showed young people made up 69.02 per cent of new registrants.

#CVR Update: Phase II, Week Six (as at 13th February 2026)

A total of 1,228,648 Nigerians have completed voter registration:
✓ 673,124 online pre-registration
✓ 555,524 physical completion

Gender:
✓ Female – 696,891 (57%)
✓ Male – 531,757 (43%)

Age Group:
✓ Youth (18–34)… pic.twitter.com/A0SJTPhRVZ

— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) February 19, 2026

Still, registration does not always translate into participation. Many Nigerians cite violence, rigging and distrust in the electoral process as reasons for staying away from the polls, while others obtain Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) mainly as a means of identification.

To understand how young Nigerians are thinking about the next election cycle, BSide spoke with ten of them about their level of enthusiasm for the 2027 polls. They were asked two questions: Are you more excited to vote in 2027 than in 2023? And are you optimistic that your vote will count in 2027? Their responses offer insight into how many young Nigerians currently view the coming elections.

The answers reveal a generation caught between duty and disillusionment.

On excitement, the split was close: six said yes, four said no. But even among those who said yes, the enthusiasm was often qualified. Bisola, a lecturer, who will be voting for the first time in 2027, said she is more excited precisely because the current government “doesn’t seem to be doing enough.” Iyanu, a teacher, said she is “definitely more excited than in 2023,” but tied her optimism to whether other young people feel the same way. Moyinoluwa, also a teacher, framed 2027 as “another opportunity to make better decisions.” Samad, a software programmer, and Olumide, a student, simply said yes.

But the excitement of Dami, a Lagos-based businessman, comes with conditions: “If they’ll make the registration process and collection of voter cards as easy as they do the vote snatching.” Olawale, a tutor, stopped short of the word excited entirely: “I don’t know about excited, but I’m looking forward to voting in 2027 because that is the power I have to change the anomaly in this country.”

Those who said no were candid. Ayo, a cryptocurrency trader, was flat about it: “The game is the game. I believe the winner of the presidential election is already obvious.” Posi, a businessman, reframed the question altogether: “I will only be voting from a place of responsibility. Responsibility doesn’t come with excitement, at least not all the time.” Anu, a travel agent, described the 2027 elections as feeling like “just trying to vote out a failed government that we are not confident of losing the election.”

On whether their votes will count, the mood darkened further. Six said yes, four said no, but again, the yes answers carried heavy asterisks. Posi offered the sharpest logic: “If votes don’t count, politicians won’t be running around to buy them with cash or food items like 5kg rice.” Agbarism went further, arguing that optimism is almost beside the point: “The duty of the electorate is to ensure that their votes count” — placing the burden on citizens, not institutions. Dami pointed to the 2023 results showing Peter Obi winning Lagos as “a little glimmer of hope,” while expressing doubt about the manual collation process.

Bisola said she believes “powers and principalities” — not voters — tend to decide who ends up in power, but will vote anyway. Anu admitted to having “already accepted defeat before the elections.” Ayo was blunter: “My vote might count, but I don’t think it will matter in the end.” Samad said yes to excitement, no to optimism — perhaps the most honest summary of the collective mood.

What this signals is complicated. The registration numbers suggest young Nigerians still want in. But the responses here suggest that many are heading into 2027 not with the hope that defined 2023, but with something closer to grim resolve: voting because they feel they must, not because they believe the system will deliver. This is a double-edged sword. If that feeling is widespread, turnout may hold or even improve, but the lack of optimism may end up being heavy enough to make most of them stay home on election days. Whether duty alone can close the gap between registration and the ballot box is the real question 2027 will answer. But there is no doubt that young people hold significant power to sway next year’s elections and they will need to exercise it to make any difference.

Meanwhile, the third and final phase of the nationwide CVR exercise resumed on Monday, May 11, and will end on Friday, July 10, providing the last chance for all citizens who have attained the age of 18 and have not registered during the earlier phases to do so now and be eligible to vote in 2027.

The 3rd and Final Phase of the CVR Exercise Begins Today!#3rdandFinalPhaseCVRExercise pic.twitter.com/tIpBw1OhD8

— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) May 11, 2026