By Habeeb Ibrahim
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately publish Nigeria’s preliminary voters’ register for public scrutiny ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Atiku’s demand followed concerns over the alleged inaccessibility of the register on INEC’s online portal during the scheduled inspection period from October 9 to 15, 2026.
The former vice-president made the call in a statement issued on Thursday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, had announced on October 5 that the number of registered voters in Nigeria had exceeded 103 million following the completion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and biometric checks.
Atiku, however, questioned the purpose of announcing the figure without making the names available for voters to verify their registration details, identify omissions and challenge suspected irregular entries.
“INEC has announced more than 103 million registered voters. Nigerians went to its portal to inspect the names and found an empty page. That is an outrage. A figure cannot answer an objection. A press announcement cannot tell a voter whether her name has been omitted. Show Nigerians the register,” he said.
He also questioned the timing of the inspection exercise, citing conflicting information about when the preliminary register was displayed.
According to him, while the INEC chairman reportedly said on October 5 that the public display had been completed, the commission subsequently announced October 9 to 15 as the period for claims and objections.
Atiku demanded that INEC clarify the dates and arrangements for the exercise and provide evidence of when and where the register was made available.
He urged the commission to publish the list by local government area, area council and ward to enable voters to verify their details and request corrections where necessary.
Citing Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, Atiku said the law requires the register to be displayed at registration areas and online for public scrutiny.
The former vice-president also raised concerns about Section 63(2) of the Act, which provides for a ballot paper without INEC’s official mark to be counted if a returning officer is satisfied that it came from a book supplied to the relevant polling unit.
He called on the electoral commission to explain the safeguards for authenticating such ballot papers and ensuring political parties can challenge questionable votes.
Atiku further called on INEC to disclose the identities of companies awarded contracts to print sensitive election materials, alleging that inquiries about the contractors had not received a response.
He also urged international partners, election observers and democratic institutions to press the commission to make the register accessible before election day.
The controversy comes as preparations continue for the 2027 general elections, with the accessibility and accuracy of the voters’ register remaining important to the verification of eligible voters and public scrutiny of the electoral process.
