By Erewunmi Peace

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has raised serious concerns over the continued presence of deceased individuals’ names in Nigeria’s national voter register.

Speaking in Abuja during an update on the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, Amupitan revealed that the voter register has not been fully cleaned up since 2011, leaving thousands of names belonging to the dead still appearing as eligible voters.

According to the INEC Chairman, the situation undermines the integrity of the electoral process and highlights gaps in Nigeria’s civil registration and death-recording systems.

“Our voter register has not undergone a comprehensive clean-up for many years. As a result, several names belong to individuals who have passed on but still appear in the register,” Amupitan said.

He explained that the upcoming Claims and Objections Period, set to begin on December 15, will give Nigerians an opportunity to review the updated register and report names that should be removed, including those of deceased persons.

Amupitan urged civil society groups, community leaders, and the general public to actively participate in the cleanup process to ensure that the final voter list ahead of the 2027 general elections is accurate and credible.

Electoral observers have long warned that the presence of dead or ineligible voters on the roll can lead to inflated statistics and cast doubt on the credibility of elections. While INEC has removed thousands of such names in previous exercises, Amupitan admitted that much more work remains.

The Chairman emphasized INEC’s commitment to transparency, assuring that all necessary measures will be taken to strengthen the voter register before the next major election cycle.