By Omoyeni Ojeifo
Following complaints from Nigerians over irregularities in the preliminary voters’ register, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations and identified 54 officials across 10 states for disciplinary action, including possible prosecution.
INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the outcome of the review of the Preliminary Register of Voters displayed nationwide between October 9 and 15, 2026.
The commission also removed 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons, bringing the total number of deleted records to 1,609,533.
Amupitan explained that INEC received 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
According to him, the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 records for further examination, clarifying that being flagged did not automatically invalidate a registration.
He noted that 1,277,052 registrations were confirmed invalid and excluded before publication of the Preliminary Register of Voters.
Following complaints, claims and objections received during the public display exercise, another 268,000 cases underwent adjudication.
Of these, 217,722 registrations were confirmed invalid, while 50,278 were cleared and retained.
Amupitan disclosed that additional screening identified another 113,886 invalid registrations, bringing the total number of invalid entries removed to 1,608,660.
On the officials implicated, Amupitan said: “Fifty-four persons cutting across ten states have been identified as complicit and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them, including possible prosecution.”
He explained that some questionable entries originated from historical registration exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023. He also addressed complaints from voters who could no longer find their names at new registration locations.
The chairman explained that some affected voters had registered previously but subsequently registered again instead of transferring their voter registration. He advised them to check their former registration locations.
Amupitan fixed December 15, 2026, for publication of the final national voters’ register after reconciliation, quality assurance and other publication checks.
On Permanent Voter Cards, he stated that distribution from the first and second registration phases was ongoing at local government areas, while cards from the third phase were being delivered to states.
He added that nationwide PVC distribution at Registration Areas would resume on December 1, 2026. The third phase of the registration exercise recorded 2,970,257 applicants before the commission’s de-duplication process.
Amupitan also addressed concerns about multiple voting, explaining that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would authenticate voters through fingerprint or facial recognition at their designated polling units.
The commission maintained that improved biometric capture, authentication and verification safeguards would strengthen the integrity of the voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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