Former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Festus Okoye, has revealed that the current voter register contains fictitious, underage, and duplicate registrations.
He said only a fresh and immediate compilation of a new biometric voters’ register can give Nigeria a reliable voter register.
Okoye said the current register could not provide an accurate picture of Nigeria’s genuine voting population because it contains names arising from double and multiple registrations, underage registration, as well as those of deceased persons and Nigerians who had left the country.
He made the startling revelation while speaking on a Podcast interview, Deep Insight with Agbonsuremi.
According to Okoye, Nigeria should have about 60 million genuine voters on its register, although he acknowledged that even that figure could be lower.
He said the gap between the number of registered voters and actual turnout in recent elections had partly been caused by the inflated register, making comparisons between registered voters and those who cast ballots misleading.
“We must have a new biometric voters’ register. If we have a new biometric voters’ register, then we can be sure of the number of individuals that are on the voters’ register,” Okoye said.
He explained that when the current register was compiled, INEC lacked the technological capacity to effectively detect multiple registrations.
“People registered and registered and registered. Some registered 10 times, some registered 20 times. Some of those people, their names are still on the voters’ register,” he said.
Okoye also alleged that underage persons were captured in the register in some communities, while there was no effective mechanism for removing the names of deceased persons or Nigerians who had relocated abroad.
He argued that these factors made the register unreliable as a basis for measuring voter participation.
The former commissioner, who said he monitored the recent Osun State governorship election, also rejected the suggestion that low voter turnout was solely an indication of voter apathy.
He described the situation largely as “voter disengagement,” saying many Nigerians had deliberately withdrawn from the electoral process because they had lost confidence in democracy.
According to him, insecurity, fear of electoral violence, distrust in the system and the belief that elections had already been decided were among the reasons many registered voters stayed away from polling units.
“What we have in Nigeria is voter disengagement. Some people have completely and absolutely and fundamentally disengaged from the electoral process. They believe that democracy is not working for them. So why waste my time?” He said.
On the Electoral Act, Okoye maintained that the existing law was sufficient to conduct credible elections, arguing that the major challenge was not the absence of adequate legislation but the failure to enforce it.
He said electoral offences persisted because institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting offenders were not sufficiently empowered.
Okoye therefore renewed his call for the establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission to investigate, arrest and prosecute electoral offenders, while allowing INEC to focus exclusively on election management.
“The commission should concentrate fully on its core mandate of organising and undertaking and supervising elections,” he said.
The former commissioner also urged INEC to strengthen its public communication strategy ahead of 2027, particularly on social media, to counter misinformation about the electoral process.
He said the commission should educate Nigerians on the functions of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IREV, stressing that BVAS was not an electronic voting machine.
Okoye further urged INEC to deepen engagement with civil society organisations and the media, while providing stakeholders with accurate information about electoral laws, guidelines and procedures.
Looking ahead to 2027, he called on political parties, electoral institutions and voters to uphold democratic values and allow Nigerians to determine who governs them, while urging Nigerians committed to good governance to become more involved in politics and governance.
“We must take back this country,” Okoye said.
Deep Insight With Agbonsuremi is a political and development Podcast anchored by veteran journalist and broadcaster, Augustine Okhiria Agbonsuremi.
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