Commission Chairman Joash Amupitan says the exercise also removed 873 verified deceased voters, while disciplinary action awaits 54 persons implicated in registration irregularities.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,608,660 confirmed invalid voter registrations from its preliminary register ahead of the publication of the final voters’ register scheduled for December 15, 2026.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this during a press conference in Abuja, explaining that the exercise followed complaints, claims and objections raised by members of the public during the display of the preliminary register between October 9 and 15, 2026.
According to Amupitan, the commission removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations from the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise, alongside 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons, bringing the total number of removed records to 1,609,553.
He explained that INEC initially harvested 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the CVR exercise, while its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) flagged questionable entries for further examination.
Following additional screening and adjudication, the commission confirmed and removed more invalid records, while retaining 50,278 cases established to be valid.
Amupitan said the current cleaning exercise had been concluded, adding that final reconciliation, quality assurance and publication checks were ongoing ahead of December 15.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission had identified 54 persons across 10 states who were allegedly involved in registration irregularities. He said disciplinary measures would be taken against those implicated, including possible prosecution.
He further explained that some registration personnel allegedly bypassed established procedures and misused provisions designed to accommodate exceptional cases, including registrations involving persons with disabilities.
Amupitan noted that the commission’s clean-up exercise would also extend to questionable records in the historical voter register covering 2011 to 2023, following concerns over duplicate registrations, unusual photographs and suspicious names.
On complaints about missing voter records, he explained that some affected individuals had registered in new locations instead of formally transferring their existing registrations. Such second registrations were invalidated by the biometric identification system, while their original records remained at their previous registration locations.
He therefore advised affected voters to check their former registration areas.
The chairman also confirmed that INEC’s proposed nationwide voter revalidation exercise had been postponed until after the 2027 general election following concerns from stakeholders about its timing. However, he stressed that biometric screening and other verification procedures had continued.
On Permanent Voter Card distribution, Amupitan said distribution of Phase 1 and Phase 2 PVCs, as well as transferred cards, was ongoing at Local Government Area offices.
He added that Phase 3 PVCs were being delivered and would be dispatched to states by the following week, while nationwide distribution at Registration Area levels was expected to resume on December 1, 2026.
INEC appealed to Phase 3 registrants to exercise patience, explaining that the production of the cards was carried out outside Nigeria.
Amupitan further assured Nigerians that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would help prevent multiple voting, noting that voters must be physically present at their designated polling units for biometric authentication through fingerprint or facial recognition.
He reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to cleaning up the voters’ register while ensuring that eligible Nigerians are not wrongly excluded from exercising their constitutional voting rights.
