The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned that Nigeria’s 2027 general elections risk being compromised unless the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) urgently explains what it described as “statistically implausible” voter registration figures.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the numbers released from Osun State and across the South-West defy historical patterns and demographic realities, raising concerns about the credibility of the electoral process.
According to the ADC, INEC’s report showed that Osun State recorded 393,269 pre-registrations within just one week.
The party noted that this figure surpasses the 275,815 new voters registered in the entire four-year cycle between 2019 and 2023.
“Even at the peak of political mobilisation in 2022, Osun never produced more than 823,124 votes in a governorship election. Now, by some miracle, nearly 20 percent of all eligible adults in the state have rushed to register. This is not just unusual; it is statistically implausible,” the statement read.
The ADC further observed that the South-West accounted for 848,359 pre-registrations, which represents 67 percent of the national total, while the entire South-East managed only 1,998, and five states combined (Ebonyi, Imo, Enugu, Abia, and Adamawa) produced just 4,153.
“These fantastic figures suggest either another technical glitch in INEC’s digital registration system, or a more troubling possibility of deliberate manipulation to prepare the ground for a sinister agenda in the coming elections. In either case, INEC owes Nigerians an explanation,” Abdullahi stressed.
The party warned that flawed voter data could undermine democracy itself.
“The voter register is the foundation of the electoral process. If it is compromised, the integrity of elections is immediately in doubt. Nigerians still remember the bitter consequences of flawed voter rolls in past polls. Our democracy cannot withstand another one,” it stated.
The ADC therefore demanded that INEC:
Conduct and publish a forensic audit of the first-week registration data, including a state-by-state breakdown of physical and online registrations.
Release server logs, bandwidth allocation records, and regional access reports for the registration portal.
It also urged opposition parties to put aside rivalries and jointly demand clarity from INEC, while calling on election monitoring groups, fact-checking organisations, and legal advocacy bodies to independently interrogate the figures.
The statement further appealed to international partners, including the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS, and Nigeria’s democratic allies to take early interest in the matter.
“Silence in the face of these anomalies would amount to complicity. History has shown that when questions about the voter register are ignored, the consequences go beyond politics and touch on national stability. The time to act is now,” the party warned.
