Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has admitted that its voter register still contains the names of deceased persons and ineligible voters, warning that the database has not undergone a comprehensive review since it was first compiled in 2011.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said many registered voters have died or migrated over the years, while some names on the register may not even belong to real people due to the manual registration process used before digital voter capture was introduced.
He explained that although the commission relies on the claims and objections process to remove such names, many Nigerians fail to report deceased persons or those who have relocated, leaving outdated records on the register.
Amupitan noted that the register currently contains over 93 million voters from the 2023 elections, with about three million additional names expected to be added through the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise before it closes on July 10.
The INEC chairman called on the National Orientation Agency to intensify voter education, saying civic engagement is critical to maintaining an accurate register and ensuring citizens understand the importance of participating in elections.
He also said recent elections in the Federal Capital Territory and Ekiti State demonstrated improvements in election administration, citing early opening of polling units, effective deployment of BVAS and faster upload of results through the IReV portal.
Responding, NOA Director-General Lanre Issa-Onilu pledged the agency’s support, stressing that stronger civic education and public participation are essential to protecting Nigeria’s democracy and strengthening confidence in the electoral process.
