The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the removal of 7,746 deceased individuals from Nigeria’s national voter register, which encompasses all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as of December 2022.
Victoria Etta-Messi, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, disclosed this development in a statement issued on Thursday, underscoring the commission’s dedication to ensuring the accuracy of the voter register.
“As of December 2022, a total of seven thousand, seven hundred and forty-six deceased persons have been removed from the National Register of Voters across the 36 states and the FCT,” she stated.
While progress has been made in refining the register, INEC pointed out ongoing challenges during its review of the 2023 post-general election in December 2024. A significant obstacle remains the difficulty in removing deceased voters due to insufficient official death records.
“The challenges associated with official death records continue to hinder INEC’s ability to eliminate deceased registrants,” the commission remarked, emphasizing the need for improved collaboration with organizations such as the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to resolve this issue.
Additionally, INEC addressed the problem of double and multiple registrations through the use of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which identified and eliminated 2,780,756 invalid registrations, representing 22.6% of new registrants.
Concerns regarding a decrease in voter turnout were also highlighted. The turnout for the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections was recorded at 27.5%, a decline from 35.6% in 2019. Stakeholders attributed this drop in part to an inflated voter register and suggested measures such as suspending individuals who have not participated in the last three elections and requiring them to revalidate their registration.
INEC reiterated its commitment to enhancing the voter registration process and addressing these challenges to improve electoral integrity in future elections.
