Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), has stressed the urgent need to update Nigeria’s voter register to remove the names of deceased persons and strengthen credibility ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room National Stakeholders Forum on Elections in Abuja on Thursday, Amupitan revealed that the register has not undergone a comprehensive clean-up since 2011, leaving many outdated entries.
He explained that the recently concluded Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which ended on December 10, would be followed by a claims and objections period beginning December 15. He urged civil society organisations to mobilise citizens to participate in the process.
“Our voter register has not been comprehensively cleaned since 2011, meaning several names of deceased persons still appear. This raises concerns about credibility,” Amupitan said.
According to INEC, 2,685,725 applicants completed registrations during the first phase of CVR, with 1,576,137 done online and 1,109,588 through physical capture. Osun, Kaduna, Plateau, Imo, Borno, and Lagos recorded the highest turnout.
Phase Two of the CVR will begin on January 5, 2026, with registration centres moved closer to wards and communities to improve access.
On vote-buying, Amupitan disclosed that INEC has written to the police, EFCC, and other agencies for investigation reports on individuals arrested for financial inducement during elections, noting that the commission can only prosecute but lacks arrest powers.
He also highlighted challenges with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), which have improved transparency but remain hindered by poor network coverage. INEC is in talks with the Nigerian Communications Commission and mobile operators to explore alternative technologies, though Amupitan admitted the commission does not control telecom infrastructure.
“Someone once asked what happens if a powerful politician convinces a service provider to switch off its service on election day. The truth is that we do not have control over these networks. These are structural issues we must confront,” he said.
Amupitan added that INEC hopes to eventually operate its own dedicated service infrastructure but noted that such capacity is not yet available.
The CVR exercise, he reminded, is a statutory process allowing eligible Nigerians who have turned 18 or changed residence to register or transfer their voting records.
, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), has stressed the urgent need){kind=link}