Photo: INEC headquarters, Abuja — Wikimedia Commons
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has deleted 1,609,553 records from Nigeria's voter register after a nationwide clean-up of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise, the Commission announced in Abuja on Monday.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, told a press conference that the deleted records comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 verified deceased voters. The final register of voters will be published on December 15, 2026, ahead of the January 16, 2027 general elections.
- 11,088,238 records were harvested across the three phases of the 2025/2026 registration exercise
- INEC's Automated Biometric Identification System initially flagged 1,545,052 records
- 54 persons across 10 states were identified as complicit in registration irregularities and face discipline, including possible prosecution
How 1.6 million questionable records entered the register
Amupitan explained that the preliminary register was displayed for public scrutiny between October 9 and 15, 2026, under Section 19(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, so that Nigerians could file claims and objections.
Of the records flagged by the biometric system, 1,277,052 invalid entries were excluded before publication. A further 268,000 records were adjudicated after the public display: 217,722 were found invalid, while 50,278 were confirmed valid and retained. Additional screening removed another 113,886 records, bringing the post-display removals to 331,608.
The irregularities included multiple registrations, substituted or manipulated photographs, and unusual names and patterns. The Chairman said some personnel "deliberately circumvented" laid-down procedures, misusing provisions made for persons with disabilities.
"Fifty-four persons across 10 states have been identified as complicit and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them, including possible prosecution," Amupitan said. INEC did not name the states or the officials.
Why the clean-up matters for the 2027 elections
The register is the foundation of the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections. A former INEC Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, had questioned on Arise Television how about 1.5 million questionable entries could have entered the system at all, saying it ought not to happen with the safeguards the Commission has in place — a reaction to the earlier flagging, before Monday's final figures were announced.
Amupitan also addressed the ADC leadership dispute, saying INEC had not received the Certified True Copy of the court judgment in the matter and does not act on what it sees on social media.
What happens next
INEC says final reconciliation and quality assurance are ongoing before the December 15 publication of the final register. Phase 3 Permanent Voter Cards — 2,970,257 registrations before de-duplication — are being produced abroad and will be dispatched from next week, with distribution returning to Registration Areas from December 1. Nationwide revalidation of the register has been deferred until after the 2027 elections, and the Commission acknowledged that historical duplications from 2011 to 2023 remain in the register.
Credit: Vanguard and Punch reports of November 9–10, 2026, of the INEC Chairman's press conference in Abuja.
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