ADC Calls For Forensic Audit Of INEC’s Voter Registration Data Amid Concerns Over 2027 Elections.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a forensic audit of its first-week voter registration data for the 2027 Nigerian general elections, citing “statistically implausible” figures that could undermine the credibility of the electoral process. In a statement released on Thursday, 28 August 2025, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, expressed alarm over the reported numbers, particularly from Osun State, which the ADC claims defy historical and demographic realities.
According to INEC, the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which began on 18 August 2025, saw 1,379,342 Nigerians complete online pre-registration within the first week. Osun State alone recorded 393,269 pre-registrations, a figure the ADC argues is highly irregular when compared to the state’s historical data. The party noted that Osun added only 275,815 new voters between 2019 and 2023, meaning the first-week figure surpasses four years of registrations in just seven days. “Even at its peak of political mobilisation in the 2022 governorship election, Osun recorded 823,124 votes cast. Now, nearly 20 per cent of all eligible adults in the state have supposedly rushed to register. This is not just unusual, it is statistically implausible,” Abdullahi stated.
The ADC highlighted regional disparities, pointing out that the South-West accounted for 67 per cent of all pre-registrations nationwide, with Osun, Lagos, and Ogun alone comprising 54.2 per cent of the total. In contrast, the entire South-East recorded just 1,998 pre-registrations, and five states—Ebonyi, Imo, Enugu, Abia, and Adamawa—collectively managed only 4,153. The party suggested that these figures could indicate either a technical glitch in INEC’s digital registration system or deliberate data manipulation, warning that such anomalies could lay the groundwork for electoral malpractice in 2027.
To address these concerns, the ADC demanded that INEC publish a comprehensive forensic audit of the first-week data, including a state-by-state breakdown of online and physical registrations, as well as server logs, bandwidth distribution, and regional access reports for the registration portal. “The voter register is the foundation of the electoral process. If this foundation is compromised, the integrity of the elections is at risk. Nigerians still remember the consequences of flawed voter rolls in past elections. Our democracy cannot withstand another,” the statement read.
The party also called on other opposition parties to unite in demanding transparency from INEC and urged election monitoring groups, fact-checking organisations, and international bodies such as the United Nations, African Union, and ECOWAS to scrutinise the data. INEC, however, dismissed the ADC’s claims as unfounded, with Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, stating that Osun’s high registration figures align with patterns observed in 2021, when the state led with 154,893 pre-registrations by the second week of a similar exercise. Oyekanmi emphasised that pre-registration figures are provisional, as registrants must complete biometric verification in person, and INEC’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) ensures the integrity of the voter roll.
As the 2027 elections approach, the ADC’s demand for accountability underscores growing concerns about electoral transparency in Nigeria. The party’s call for a forensic audit reflects a broader push to safeguard the democratic process, with the outcome likely to shape public confidence in INEC’s handling of the voter registration exercise.
