INEC Urged to Republish Corrected Voter Register Before December 15

A former Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mike Igini, has called on the commission to republish its corrected voter register to allow Nigerians scrutinise the document ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Igini made the call on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, following INEC’s announcement that more than 1.6 million invalid registrations had been removed from the register.

He commended the commission’s chairman, Joash Amupitan, for acknowledging the errors identified in the preliminary register, noting that admitting mistakes was preferable to allowing them to remain unaddressed.

The former electoral commissioner, however, stressed that the updated register should be made available on INEC’s website before the final document is produced.

He explained that the publication would give political parties, civil society organisations and members of the public an opportunity to examine the corrections and raise concerns where necessary.

Igini said the Electoral Act required the commission to publish the register at ward level, adding that transparency in the process was essential to building confidence in the electoral system.

He warned that irregularities in voter registration could undermine the credibility of elections, arguing that attempts to manipulate the register were among the ways electoral fraud could begin.

The former commissioner also called for appropriate sanctions against individuals found responsible for introducing invalid registrations.

He said INEC needed to complete the review and make the corrected register available for public scrutiny before the December 15 deadline for the next stage of the electoral process.