By Peter Ade
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to commence a nationwide voter revalidation exercise to strengthen the integrity of the voters’ register ahead of the 2027 General Election.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, stated this during a consultative meetings with Civil Society Organisations and media executives, in Abuja.
He explained that the exercise is aimed at addressing duplicate, underage and non-citizen registrations, as well as the inclusion of deceased persons and inaccurate records.
He noted that the register, first compiled in 2011 and continuously updated, had 93,469,008 voters during the 2023 General Election, stressing that periodic sanitisation is necessary to sustain public confidence.
On preparations for the FCT Area Council Elections, Professor Amupitan announced a mock accreditation exercise in 289 selected polling units, ahead of the polls involving 1,680,315 registered voters across 2,822 polling units, with 570 candidates contesting 68 constituencies.
He said non-sensitive materials have been deployed, ad hoc staff recruited and trained, while BVAS devices are being configured for accreditation and result upload to the INEC Result Viewing portal.
Sensitive materials will be delivered a day before the election.
The Commission also confirmed that bye-elections will hold the same day in selected constituencies in Rivers and Kano States to fill vacancies in their State Houses of Assembly.
INEC further announced that the Ekiti Governorship Election will hold on June 20, 2026, while the Osun Governorship Election is scheduled for August 8, 2026.
On Continuous Voter Registration, the Chairman said 2,782,589 voters were registered between August and December 2025, with the second phase running until April 17, 2026. He added that 171 associations have applied for registration as political parties.
Stakeholders, including Civil Society Organisations and the Nigeria Union of Journalists, pledged support for voter education and responsible reportage, as INEC urged residents to collect their PVCs and called for peaceful campaigns.
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