By Our Reporter
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,609,553 invalid and deceased voter records from the national register as part of efforts to sanitise the database ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Monday during a press conference in Abuja, where he also explained the delay in producing Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for Nigerians who registered during the third phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
According to Amupitan, the records removed comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 verified deceased voters.
He said the commission was committed to addressing irregularities in the voter register through evidence-based investigations, corrective measures and stronger preventive mechanisms.
“The Commission recognises that the detection of irregularities raises legitimate questions about how they arose. The response is evidence-led investigation, completed corrective action and stronger preventive controls,” he said.
On the delayed PVCs, the INEC chairman explained that distribution of cards produced under the first and second phases, including those arising from voter transfers, was ongoing across the country’s local government areas.
He added that some PVCs produced for the third and final phase were already being delivered and would be dispatched to the states from the following week.
Amupitan said distribution would return to the registration areas nationwide from December 1, 2026, urging those who registered during the third phase to exercise patience.
He attributed the delay partly to the fact that the production of the cards was being handled outside Nigeria.
INEC had earlier recorded 2,970,257 registrants during the third phase before applying its de-duplication procedures.
The latest clean-up followed public criticism and scrutiny of anomalies detected during the display of the preliminary voters register between October 9 and 15, 2026.
A technical audit conducted with the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) reportedly uncovered irregularities, including unusual registration patterns, substituted photographs and fraudulent multiple registrations.
The investigation also identified 54 INEC staff members across 10 states who allegedly manipulated the registration process by deliberately bypassing established procedures.
The affected personnel were accused of exploiting special registration provisions designed to accommodate vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities.
The commission said disciplinary measures and possible prosecutions had been initiated against those implicated.
On the controversy surrounding court cases involving political actors, particularly the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Amupitan said INEC would only act on duly authenticated court documents.
“On ADC/Atiku: as of today, we have not received the Certified True Copy of the court judgment and we don’t act based on what we see on social media,” he stated.
The INEC chairman further disclosed that the commission was reviewing historical records inherited from previous registration exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023, which still contained legacy duplications.
He said the commission’s board had directed that flagged entries from previous registration cycles should be removed after due verification.
To prevent electoral fraud during the 2027 elections, INEC assured Nigerians that mandatory physical accreditation and biometric verification through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would remain in force.
The system uses fingerprint or facial recognition technology to authenticate voters and prevent multiple voting and unauthorised accreditation.