2027 Politics Watch: From INEC’s 1.6m voter-register clean-up to Wike’s ₦10m pledge

INEC said it rejected more than 1.6 million invalid voter registrations and identified 54 personnel for investigation. Nyesom Wike’s ₦10 million pledge to councillors drew an APC defence, while the ruling party set ambitious Ebonyi vote targets and Atiku’s son declared support for Tinubu in Jigawa.

Nearly four in five of the 1.6 million invalid voter registrations disclosed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday had been removed before publication of the preliminary register, even as the commission acknowledged that questionable entries from earlier exercises remained unresolved ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections.

In Abuja, Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike promised ₦10 million to councillors who deliver their wards for President Bola Tinubu, whose party set vote targets in Ebonyi far above the number of voters accredited there during the 2023 presidential election.

In Jigawa, Abba Atiku, a son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, led his political organisation to declare support for Mr Tinubu.

Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) asked INEC to preserve its disputed leadership records, while 375 judges were inaugurated in Abuja for election petition duties.

INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan said the commission examined 11,088,238 records generated during the three phases of the 2025–26 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

Of those, 1,608,660, approximately 14.5 per cent, were confirmed invalid and excluded, according to PREMIUM TIMES’ report on Monday’s briefing.

The commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System initially flagged 1,545,052 registrations for examination. INEC had excluded 1,277,052 invalid records before publishing the preliminary register in October.

Following public complaints, the commission examined another 268,000 cases, rejecting 217,722 and clearing 50,278 as valid.

Further screening identified 113,886 additional invalid entries. The two later rounds accounted for 331,608 exclusions, bringing the total to 1,608,660.

Thus, nearly 80 per cent of the rejected registrations had been excluded before Monday’s announcement, rather than newly deleted that day.

INEC separately reported removing 873 records belonging to verified deceased voters.

Although a combined total of 1,609,553 was attributed to the commission, the two stated components — 1,608,660 invalid registrations and 873 deceased-voter records — add up to 1,609,533. The unexplained difference is 20 records.

Mr Amupitan said automated flags did not automatically establish that registrations were invalid. The 50,278 cases cleared during the subsequent review illustrated the need for individual examination.

The investigation uncovered suspected multiple registrations, substituted photographs and irregular registration patterns.

INEC also found that some personnel allegedly circumvented procedures intended for exceptional registration circumstances, including assistance for persons with disabilities.

The chairman said 54 people across 10 states had been identified for disciplinary investigation, with prosecution possible where wrongdoing was established.

INEC acknowledged that questionable records from registration exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023 remained in its system.

Some suspicious names and photographs circulated online originated from those earlier exercises, Mr Amupitan said.

The commission has deferred a proposed nationwide revalidation exercise until after the elections but said it would continue examining historical irregularities through existing complaints and verification procedures.

Mr Amupitan also explained that some voters who moved without transferring their registrations re-enrolled. Their duplicate entries were rejected, while the original registrations remained at their previous locations.

On Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), INEC said distribution for earlier registration phases was continuing. Cards from the third phase were still being delivered, with collection at registration areas scheduled to resume on 1 December.

The decision to defer nationwide revalidation leaves the commission relying on targeted checks to address older irregularities before the January 2027 election.

Mr Wike promised ₦10 million to FCT councillors who deliver their wards for Mr Tinubu during a Rainbow Coalition stakeholders’ meeting in Kwali Area Council.

He urged them to engage community leaders, youth groups, and local associations to mobilise support.

His media aide, Lere Olayinka, subsequently confirmed the promise to TheCable.

APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda defended the offer on Channels Television’s Politics Today, saying he did not consider it vote-buying.

Neither the minister’s announcement nor the defence specified who would finance the rewards, what would qualify a ward or which activities any payments would cover.

Section 125(1)(a) of the Electoral Act 2026 addresses corrupt offers or promises intended to induce a person to procure votes or secure a candidate’s election.

Subsection (3), however, excludes money paid for bona fide lawful election expenses.