By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has said that the voter register has not been comprehensively cleaned since 2011 and still contain names of many dead persons.
Amupitan said the situation raised concerns about electoral credibility and urged citizens and civil society groups to actively participate in electoral processes.
He explained that the claims and objections window allows citizens to verify and correct entries before the data on the voter register is consolidated.
The INEC chairman stated this on Thursday, December 11, at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room National Stakeholders Forum on Elections in Abuja.
He said: “I want to appeal to civil society and all stakeholders here to help mobilise citizens to take advantage of this window. Some of the challenges we face stem from low participation in this stage.
“For instance, during our review in Anambra State, we assessed a register of 2.8 million voters, yet turnout suggested only about 20 per cent participation. However, it is important to note that our voter register has not been comprehensively cleaned since 2011, meaning several names of deceased persons still appear.
“I do not want to mention specific names, but in Anambra State, a prominent leader—known to have died many years ago—was still listed in the register. When someone who passed away 15 years ago, known both locally and internationally, remains on the voter register, it raises concerns about credibility. Statutorily, the claims and objections window is designed to address this.”
Amupitan also disclosed that the commission has recorded 2,685,725 completed registrations in the first phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which ended on December 10.
He said the figure comprised 1,576,137 completed online registrations and 1,109,588 completed through physical capture, noting that turnout was highest in Osun, Kaduna, Plateau, Imo, Borno and Lagos.
Amupitan said: “Since the CVR exercise began on August 18, I am pleased to share the latest data reflecting the nationwide response. As of our most recent updates, the commission has recorded 2,685,725 completed registrations. Of this figure, 1,576,137 individuals completed their registration online, while 1,109,588 finalised their registration through physical capture.
“Osun State maintains its lead with 208,357 registered voters, followed by Kaduna State with 159,669; Plateau State with 152,650; and Imo State with 145,561. States like Borno (123,835) and Lagos (123,484) also reflect significant participation.
“The crucial exercise was scheduled to conclude its first quarter on December 10, and Phase One was successfully brought to a close yesterday. Beginning December 15, we will commence the next stage, which is the claims and objections period.”
Amupitan also disclosed that the Phase Two of the CVR will begin on January 5, 2026, with registration centres moved closer to wards and communities to address distance and access challenges encountered in Phase One.
On vote buying, he said the commission had reached out to security agencies for updates on individuals arrested for financial inducement during recent elections.
The INEC chairman added that the commission relies on covert and overt security deployments to curb financial inducement at polling units.
He said: “We have written to the police, the EFCC and others to provide investigation reports on those arrested. INEC can only prosecute; we do not have powers to arrest.”
Amupitan said the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the INEC Result Viewing Portal has enhanced transparency, but their performance is often affected by poor network coverage in many polling units.
“A tool like BVAS is only as good as the network it runs on. Achieving real-time upload of results to IReV is still one of our toughest operational battles,” he said.
Amupitan recalled a mock accreditation exercise conducted before the Anambra State governorship election, where several polling units experienced delays in BVAS uploads due to unstable network service.
He added that while some devices uploaded accreditation figures immediately, others failed because presiding officers operated in areas with weak network signals.
The INEC chairman said the commission is in ongoing discussions with the Nigerian Communications Commission and mobile network operators, and is exploring alternative technologies and system redundancies. However, he emphasised that INEC does not control the underlying telecom infrastructure.
