The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed the removal of 7,746 deceased voters from Nigeria’s national voter register across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as of December 2022. Victoria Etta-Messi, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, disclosed this on Thursday, emphasizing the commission’s ongoing commitment to maintaining an accurate voter register.
“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,” Etta-Messi said.
Despite progress in cleaning the voter register, INEC acknowledged persistent challenges during its 2023 post-general election review in December 2024. One significant issue remains the difficulty of removing deceased voters due to inadequate official death records.
“Problems with official death records continue to make it very difficult for INEC to remove deceased registrants,” the commission noted. It added that enhanced collaboration with agencies such as the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is crucial to addressing this issue.
INEC also addressed the issue of double and multiple registrations, which were flagged by the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS). The system identified and removed 2,780,756 invalid registrations, accounting for 22.6% of new registrants.
The commission also raised concerns about declining voter turnout. The 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections saw a turnout of just 27.5%, a decrease from 35.6% in 2019. Stakeholders attributed the decline partly to an inflated voter register and suggested measures such as suspending individuals who have not voted in the last three elections and requiring them to revalidate their registration.
INEC reiterated its commitment to improving the voter registration process and addressing these issues in order to enhance electoral integrity for future elections.
