Ghost voters: INEC set to embark on nationwide voter revalidation

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By Omeiza Ajayi

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​The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has approved a nationwide voter revalidation exercise, marking a significant step toward ensuring the integrity of the national register of voters.

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Vanguard gathered that the move followed high-level discussions held earlier this year during a strategic retreat in Lagos, where the necessity of a “credible voter register” was placed at the forefront of the commission’s agenda.

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​The Secretary to the Commission, Dr. Rose Oriaran-Anthony, confirmed the directive in a memo sent to all Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, across the federation.

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She noted that the exercise is designed to be accessible to all Nigerians, stating that it “will be conducted both online and at designated centres at Local Government Area LGA, Registration Area RA and Polling Unit PU levels nationwide.”

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​To handle the technical side of the revalidation, the Commission is deploying its proprietary INEC Voter Enrollment Devices IVEDs. According to the plan, two devices will be stationed at each LGA headquarters, while individual units will be sent to every Registration Area and Polling Unit to ensure maximum coverage.

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​The workforce for this massive undertaking will consist of a mix of permanent INEC staff and members of the National Youth Service Corps NYSC.

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Dr. Oriaran-Anthony specified that the deployment would see “two personnel per IVED” to manage the enrollment process and assist citizens.

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​Regional offices have already been instructed to jumpstart their logistics, with the Secretary’s memo urging commissioners to “commence necessary preparations for the exercise, including sourcing of personnel and preparation of IVEDs.”

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​While a specific start date for the public phase was not contained in the primary memo, Vanguard gathered that more details would be released soon, as the current memo is just to get the RECs prepared for the exercise.

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Dead men don’t vote

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On February 4, INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan SAN, told journalists that the integrity of the 93.4 million voters currently on the register must be protected from “anomalies” that undermine public trust.

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“Persistent challenges – including duplicate registrations, underage registration, registration by non-citizens, deceased voters and incomplete or inaccurate records – continue to generate legitimate concerns,” Amupitan remarked.

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To rectify this, he said, “The commission will embark on a thorough clean-up with a view to further sanitising and strengthening the integrity of the register. Accordingly, the commission will be embarking on a nationwide voter revalidation exercise ahead of the 2027 general election.”

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