INEC Cleans Up Voter Register, Removes 7,746 Deceased Names Nationwide
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed the removal of 7,746 deceased voters from the national register across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory as of December 2022.
Victoria Etta-Messi, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, announced the update on Thursday, reaffirming the commission’s commitment to maintaining an accurate and credible voter database.
“Seven thousand, seven hundred and forty-six deceased persons across the 36 states and the FCT were removed from the National Register of voters as of December 2022,” she stated.
While INEC has made strides in cleaning the voter register, the commission acknowledged ongoing challenges during its 2023 post-general election review in December 2024. A significant issue is the difficulty of removing deceased voters due to incomplete or inadequate official death records.
“Problems with official death records continue to make it very difficult for INEC to remove deceased registrants,” the commission noted, emphasizing the need for enhanced collaboration with the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to resolve the issue.
Additionally, INEC addressed the problem of double and multiple registrations through the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which flagged and removed 2,780,756 invalid entries, accounting for 22.6% of new registrants.
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The commission also raised concerns about declining voter turnout. The 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections recorded a turnout of just 27.5%, a significant drop from 35.6% in 2019. Stakeholders partly attributed the decline to an inflated voter register and suggested measures such as suspending individuals who fail to vote in three consecutive elections and requiring them to revalidate their registration.
INEC reiterated its dedication to improving the voter registration process and addressing these challenges to enhance electoral integrity in future elections.
