The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has defended voter registration figures from the South-West, rejecting claims by opposition parties that the numbers are inflated, especially in Osun State.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Labour Party (LP) questioned the statistics released during the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
The ADC described them as “statistically implausible,” noting that Osun reportedly recorded 393,269 pre-registrations in one week. By contrast, the state added just 275,815 new voters between 2019 and 2023, a four-year electoral cycle.
ADC argued that the surge far exceeds historical patterns. It highlighted that Osun had never produced more than 823,124 votes in an election, even during the highly contested 2022 governorship poll. “Now, nearly 20 percent of all eligible adults are said to have registered in one week. This is statistically impossible,” the party said.
The opposition also pointed to sharp regional disparities. INEC’s data showed the South-West accounted for 848,359 pre-registrations, 67 percent of the national total. The South-East, by comparison, recorded just 1,998. Three states; Osun, Lagos, and Ogun, made up 54.2 percent of all registrations, while five states, including Ebonyi, Enugu, and Adamawa, barely managed 4,153, representing just 0.2 percent.
The Labour Party (LP) echoed these concerns, warning Nigerians to be cautious and accusing INEC of “shenanigans.”
Other parties, however, took a different stance. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) dismissed the ADC’s fears as unnecessary, insisting that INEC’s credibility was intact.
In Osun, reactions were mixed: the APC said only INEC could explain the numbers, while the PDP admitted the figures were “alarming” but suggested they might reflect voters’ eagerness ahead of 2027.
INEC, in response, described the opposition’s concerns as unfounded. The commission said Osun also topped early registration figures during the 2021 CVR exercise, showing similar spikes. It stressed that all online pre-registrations must still be completed in person with biometric verification before they count.
Citing previous voter surges, INEC recalled that the national register increased by 14 million ahead of the 2019 elections and by another 9.4 million before 2023, bringing the total to 93.4 million voters. It emphasized that the latest figures follow that trend.
INEC also warned against “sheer conjecture and misinformation.” The commission pledged to release frequent updates to ensure transparency as the CVR continues nationwide.
