Power must change hands!
Your mates are already registering for their voter cards, and INEC wants you to join the club
Good morning, Big Brains. I want to shamefully admit that I didn’t deliver my polling unit in 2023. I had my voter card, but couldn’t vote because I wasn’t in the state where I registered. But you see 2027? I’m so ready, and I hope you are too.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,300
Reading time ~ 8 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Your mates are already registering for their voter’s card, and INEC wants you to join the club
Japan is setting the record straight about its “special visa” for Nigerians
The Big Deal
Your mates are already registering for their voter’s card, and INEC wants you to join the club
Wake up, kids! It’s “put your money where your mouth is” o’clock. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially kicked off online pre-registration for voter cards, and over 1.3 million Nigerians have already registered.
According to INEC, the online pre-registration exercise, which kicked off on August 18, 2025, had pulled in 1,379,342 applications as of August 24. And as always, Nigerian women are carrying the stats. 52% of registrations came from women and 48% from men.
The biggest win in our books so far is that over 860,000 entries came from young people between 18 and 34.
For those who’d rather queue in INEC’s office, physical registration officially started across INEC’s 811 state and local government offices on Monday, August 25. The exercise runs till August 30, 2026, but we’ll be side-eying every Nigerian who waits until the last minute.
Why is this a big deal?
If you’ve ever had a thing or two to say about politics and governance in Nigeria, this should be a big deal to you.
During the 2023 elections, youths made up 76% of newly registered voters. When you compare what we’re working with now to the 7.6 million young registered voters we had at the time, we’re running a little behind. And yes, we know there’s still a whole year left to register, but INEC itself has admitted that late registration can be problematic.
We don’t usually “aspire to persire” here, but youths make up the largest population in Nigeria, and it would only make sense if we held the highest decision-making power in 2027.
You probably have a long list of things to worry about, so we’ve done the “how to register” homework for you. INEC created different buttons on the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) portal for people who fall into different categories.
New Registration: For people who have never registered before, go to the INEC portal and click on the New Voter Pre-Registration button. Fill in the required information, then proceed to the nearest designated centre to complete your physical, in-person registration.
Information Review: If you have already registered but haven’t reviewed your information by providing your photo online (or at any registration centre since June 28, 2021), click the Voter Information Review button to begin revalidation.
Locate a Centre: If you prefer to visit a registration centre to complete your application or registration, there are centres in INEC State and Local Government offices and other locations. Click the Locate Registration Centre button to find the one closest to you.
Transfer: If you are already a registered voter and wish to change your voting location, click on the Transfer button to begin the request.
Update Information: If you are a registered voter and wish to update the information on your voter’s card, click the Information Update button to start the process.
Uncollected PVCs: If you have registered but have not yet collected your Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC), click the Uncollected PVC button to find out where to pick it up.
Lost or Damaged PVCs: If you have misplaced your PVC or if it is damaged and you need a replacement, click the Lost or Damaged PVC button to apply for a re-issue.
We’ve walked you through the steps; now you have no excuses. We’re counting on you to deliver your polling unit in 2027.
Japan is setting the record straight about its “special visa” for Nigerians
Mentally, some Nigerians are already in Tokyo, and we can’t even blame them because of a certain someone who sold them “special visa” dreams.
On Monday, August 25, the Japanese Foreign Ministry denied claims that it planned to issue special visas for Nigerians or other Africans.
So, where did the gist come from?
At the 9th Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD9) last week in Yokohama, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) announced the “Africa Hometown” initiative to build a partnership between Japan and Africa. The Japanese government also announced Kisarazu as the official “hometown” for Nigerians interested in living and working in Japan.
Nigerian officials like Abiodun Oladunjoye, Director of Information at the State House, claimed that the partnership “will create a special visa category for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians who want to move to Kisarazu to live and work.”
The misinformation started there and found its way into some people’s 2026 vision boards. But Japan has now made it clear that it’s open to everything from exchange events to strengthening ties, but it has no plans to hand out special visas just because your number starts with +234.
By all means, you can still include Japan in your japa plans, but it won’t be as smooth as Oladunjoye made it out to be.
Your next big read
→Japa to Japan: Why Japan’s Invitation of Nigerian Workers Is Not the Win We Think It Is: Between 20 and 22 August 2025, Japan hosted the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama. Japan has been organising this conference since 1993, alongside the UN, World Bank, and African Union, to strengthen ties with Africa and promote development.
→I Got a PPA That Paid Me ₦250,000 During NYSC. Here’s How I Did It: Udeme* (22) knows how much a year can change your life; for her, it started with NYSC. In this story, she shares how she turned her service year into the most productive year of her work life by shooting her shot, landing her dream PPA, and 8xing her income.
The Big Picks
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Zoning Presidential Tickets Two Years To Poll Anti-People, ADC Tackles PDP, APC: Opposition coalition, African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said that the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to begin talks about zoning their 2027 presidential tickets two years before the election showed they don’t care about addressing the plights of Nigerians.
This Week’s Big Question
“What’s one thing your parents/older relatives always brag about Nigeria back then that you wish you experienced?”
Abiola’s response - “I’ll give you two instead. One, university students used to get free meals. I’m talking about a whole chicken split between two students, cartons of milk, and packs of noodles. Two, that era when companies used to beg graduates with job offers before they even left school, and you’d be there doing eeny, meeny, miny, moe to pick a side”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Abiola’s, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
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Shey na like this we go de dey?
It’s been four years since Miss Tems released Crazy Things, and the craziness is still very much in the room with us.
Thanks for the update Big Daily!
Same issue I had last election. At some point, I learnt I could request for it to be transfered to the state I was in but all effort to do that failed.