The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 7,746 deceased voters from the national voter register across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This development was disclosed by Victoria Etta-Messi, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, during a briefing on Thursday.
“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 revealed.
INEC regularly undertakes a thorough review of its voter register to ensure accuracy, particularly before general elections. Despite this, the commission faces significant challenges, especially in identifying and removing the records of deceased individuals due to incomplete or inaccurate death records.
In its December 2024 post-general election review, INEC highlighted these challenges while reflecting on improvements and setbacks in the voter registration process. Between 2022 and 2023, the commission registered over 12 million new voters. However, issues like multiple registrations and outdated data persist.
To combat duplicate registrations, INEC utilized an Automated Biometric Identification System, which successfully flagged and removed 2,780,756 invalid entries. These accounted for 22.6 percent of all new registrants nationwide.
Another concern for INEC is the steady decline in voter turnout. The 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections recorded a turnout of just 27.5 percent, a significant drop from 35.6 percent in 2019. Some stakeholders attributed this decline to the inflated voter register, which may discourage voters.
During the review, experts suggested that INEC strengthen its collaboration with agencies like the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to improve the identification and removal of deceased voters.
Additionally, there were calls for stricter measures, such as suspending individuals who have not participated in the last three elections and requiring them to revalidate their voter registration.
