ABUJA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's electoral chief said on Monday more than 84 million Nigerians have registered to vote in next month's general elections in the West African country.
Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, told representatives of political parties in Abuja that the electoral body currently had a total of 84,004,084 registered voters.
The figure represents about 42 percent of Nigeria's 198 million population.
The current figure is also about 15.2 million more than the total of 68.8 million Nigerians who voted in the 2015 general elections.
In August, the electoral body confirmed 91 political parties for the general elections. Out of the figure, only 73 presidential candidates will contest the February polls.
An official statement by the electoral body on Monday said 850,000 personnel, including ad hoc staff, would be trained for the general elections.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, will hold the general elections on Feb. 16 to elect the president and National Assembly members.
