2027: INEC Must Use Existing Voters Register – Okoye

Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) National Commissioner Festus Okoye says the commission will have to rely on its existing voters’ register for the 2027 general elections, despite questions about the credibility of the database.

Okoye, however, called for a fresh biometric registration exercise immediately after the elections, arguing that the current register contains irregularities and cannot be regarded as a reliable record of eligible voters.

He made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television while discussing how INEC could restore public confidence in the register ahead of the next general elections.

According to him, there is insufficient time to address the problems with the existing database before the 2027 polls, leaving the commission with no practical alternative but to use it.

“The truth of the matter is that there is nothing we can do now. We have to go into the election with this current voters’ register,” he said. 

Okoye said a new biometric register should be compiled as soon as the elections are concluded, describing the current database as opaque and questioning whether it accurately reflects the country’s eligible voters.

“My position is that immediately after the conduct of the 2027 general election, Nigeria must have a new biometric voters’ register.

“I think that our voters’ register as presently constituted is opaque and cannot be said to be a clean voters’ register. It cannot be said to be a genuine voters’ register that we can go into an election with.

“But the truth of the matter is that there is nothing we can do now. We have to go into the election with this current voters’ register. And immediately after the election, we should have a new biometric voters’ register,” he added.

His comments follow concerns over the integrity of the national voters’ register after irregularities emerged during INEC’s 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

The commission displayed the preliminary register from October 9 to 15, 2026, giving registered voters an opportunity to verify their details and submit claims or objections.

INEC also made the provisional records available online to allow more Nigerians to examine the register and report suspected discrepancies.

On November 9, INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed that the commission had expunged 1,608,660 invalid entries from the latest registration exercise, as well as 873 records belonging to people confirmed to be deceased.

Amupitan also revealed that 54 officials in 10 states had been flagged for administrative investigations and possible prosecution over their alleged involvement in registration misconduct.

The violations included multiple registrations, altered photographs and deliberate breaches of registration procedures by some electoral officials.

He cautioned, however, that removing the invalid entries from the latest exercise would not eliminate all problems with the national register, as some questionable records originated from earlier registration exercises.

INEC is scheduled to release the final voters’ register on December 15, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections.