The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced the removal of 1.6 million invalid entries from Nigeria’s national voter register as part of efforts to sanitise the database ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission also provided an explanation for the delay in distributing Permanent Voter Cards to Nigerians who participated in the third phase of its Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, made the disclosure during a press briefing in Abuja, revealing that the commission had expunged 1,609,553 questionable records after investigating discrepancies identified in the voters’ database. According to him, the figure included 1,608,660 registrations confirmed to be invalid and 873 records belonging to deceased individuals.
He explained that the exercise was prompted by complaints from members of the public and observations made during the display of the preliminary voter register between October 9 and 15, 2026. The exercise provided an opportunity to examine suspected irregularities and address concerns raised by Nigerians over the integrity of the register.
Amupitan further disclosed that a technical examination of the database, carried out with the support of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), exposed several fraudulent activities. These included suspicious registration patterns, photograph substitutions and attempts to register multiple times using fraudulent identities.
Beyond the irregularities discovered in the register, the commission also identified 54 personnel in 10 states allegedly involved in manipulating registration processes. The affected officials were accused of abusing established procedures, including special registration arrangements intended to accommodate vulnerable persons and individuals living with disabilities.
The INEC chairman stated that the commission had commenced disciplinary proceedings against the implicated workers, while steps were also being taken to determine whether they should face prosecution. He maintained that investigations into suspected electoral registration fraud would continue, alongside measures to strengthen institutional safeguards against future violations.
Addressing concerns surrounding the non-availability of PVCs for Nigerians registered during the third phase of the CVR exercise, Amupitan attributed the delay to the ongoing production and delivery process, explaining that some of the cards were still being transported from overseas before they could be distributed to beneficiaries across the country.
He clarified that the distribution of cards produced for the first and second phases of the registration exercise was still underway at various local government areas. The ongoing exercise also covers PVCs issued to voters who successfully transferred their registration details.
“The distribution of Phases 1 and 2 of the PVC and transferred PVCs is ongoing at the various LGAs in Nigeria. Some of the PVCs for the third and final phase are being delivered and they would be dispatched to the states by next week,” he said.
According to the commission, arrangements have also been concluded to extend PVC distribution to Registration Areas across the country from December 1, 2026. Amupitan urged Nigerians who participated in the final phase of the registration exercise to remain patient, noting that the production process was being handled outside Nigeria.
INEC disclosed that 2,970,257 Nigerians completed registration during the third phase of the CVR exercise before the commission commenced its de-duplication process to identify and eliminate repeated entries.
In a related development, Amupitan revealed that the commission was undertaking a comprehensive examination of historical voter registration records covering the period between 2011 and 2023. The exercise is aimed at identifying duplicate entries that may have remained in the national database from previous registration cycles.
He explained that INEC’s board had already approved the removal of suspicious legacy records, subject to appropriate verification procedures, as part of efforts to maintain a credible and reliable voter register.
On the legal disagreements surrounding political parties, particularly the internal leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the INEC chairman stressed that the commission would not take decisions based on unverified reports or information circulating on social media. He insisted that only officially authenticated court documents would guide the commission’s actions.
“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 said.
Meanwhile, the commission has reaffirmed its commitment to preventing electoral malpractice, particularly multiple voting and unauthorised voter accreditation, during the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan assured that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would remain a central component of the accreditation process. He explained that the technology would continue to verify voters through fingerprint authentication or facial recognition, while requiring individuals to be physically present before they could be accredited to vote.
