Nigeria’s official voter turnout figures may be inaccurate because the national database still contains the names of millions of citizens who have died, the country’s electoral chief has said.
Professor Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), revealed that the voter register has not been comprehensively cleaned up since 2011.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, Prof. Amupitan explained that the commission relies on the public to flag deceased relatives during review periods, but Nigerians have consistently failed to do so.
“Even family members that you know have died are still on the register,” he said. “And they have been counted in terms of the percentage of voter turnout.”
The INEC boss added that before digital capturing was introduced in 2011, the system was vulnerable to manipulation, with people registering fictitious names that remain on the database today.
‘A silent, dangerous enemy’
Prof. Amupitan warned that the commission is battling a “silent, dangerous enemy” in the form of deep-seated voter apathy and orchestrated fake news designed to make citizens believe their votes do not count.
Looking ahead to the 2027 general election—with the presidential vote scheduled for 16 January and governorship polls on 6 February—the chairman said technology alone cannot save Nigeria’s democracy.
“We can purchase the finest Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines… but all of these technological triumphs mean nothing if the citizens remain detached, cynical, or completely uneducated about the power of their votes,” he said.
To combat this, INEC is partnering with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to launch a grassroots voter education campaign to restore public trust, which the chairman admitted is currently “very poor”.
Tech vs Apathy
The electoral body noted that recent local elections in the Federal Capital Territory and the off-cycle governorship election in Ekiti State served as successful “stress tests” for its technology.
According to INEC, more than 90% of polling units opened on time, biometric authentication worked efficiently, and results were uploaded swiftly to its public viewing portal (IReV).
However, despite these operational successes, voter turnout remained dismally low.
“It is a loud diagnostic signal that far more needs to be done,” Prof. Amupitan said, adding that the era of snatching ballot boxes and manually rewriting results is over.
Digital voter cards
Addressing changes in the 2026 Electoral Act, the INEC chairman clarified new rules surrounding downloadable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
He stressed that obtaining a digital PVC is not automatic and is strictly restricted to voters whose physical cards have been lost or defaced.
Affected voters must formally apply to the commission three months before an election to access the digital download.
The Director General of the NOA, Mallam Lanre Isa Onilu, welcomed the partnership, stating that deciding Nigeria’s leadership is a fundamental citizen right that must be fiercely protected against misinformation.
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