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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said alleged plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to undertake voter revalidation exercise, ahead of the 2027 polls, would be a recipe for chaos, if confirmed to be true.
The ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, charged INEC to confirm the authenticity of an alleged leaked memo suggesting that the commission plans to embark on a nationwide voter revalidation exercise.
In a letter signed by Rose Oriaran-Anthony, secretary to the commission, the voter revalidation drive will commence on April 13. All resident electoral commissioners (RECs) have been asked to begin necessary preparations for the exercise, including sourcing of personnel and preparation of INEC voter enrolment devices (IVED).
The timeline shows that the exercise will begin at the LGA level from April 13 to May 2, before moving to the registration area (RA) level from May 5 to May 11, and subsequently to polling units (PUs) from May 13 to May 19.
The exercise will then return to the LGA level for a second phase from May 20 to May 29.
Ahead of the nationwide rollout, the commission on March 30 held a training-of-trainers (ToT) workshop at The Electoral Institute (TEI) to prepare officials for the exercise.
Kunle Ajayi, chairman of the institute’s board, emphasised the importance of the exercise, adding that “a credible election starts with a credible voter register”.
He said it is “critical to ensure the integrity of the register ahead of the 2027 general election.”
Ajayi urged participants who were drawn from TEI master trainers and staff of the voter registry and ICT departments to stay committed, noting that “the success of the revalidation exercise rests on their shoulders”.
Announcing plans for the revalidation in February, Joash Amupitan, INEC chairman, said the exercise was necessary to address persistent challenges associated with the national voters’ register, including duplicate registrations, underage registrations, registration by non-citizens, inclusion of deceased persons and incomplete or inaccurate voter records, which collectively undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
He said although the national register of voters was first compiled ahead of the 2011 general election and has been continuously updated and deployed for successive general, off-cycle and by-elections, its credibility must be periodically reinforced to reflect current realities and meet public expectations.
But ADC argued that asking registered voters to revalidate their details less than 10 months to the next general election would lead to more voter apathy and exclude those, who would be unable to travel to their polling areas for the exercise.
It stated that no matter INEC’s intention, the electoral umpire must be careful not to lend its to accusations of allegedly helping the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming polls.
“The ADC has been inundated with reports of a purported internal memo from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), indicating plans to embark on a nationwide voter revalidation exercise.
“We call on INEC to immediately confirm to Nigerians whether this memo is genuine, and whether it indeed reflects an official plan of the Commission.
If true, this development raises serious concerns and must be rejected outright as a recipe for chaos.
“Coming less than ten months to a general election, such an exercise risks disenfranchising millions of Nigerians. It is already difficult enough to get citizens to register to vote in the first place. To now require them to return and ‘revalidate’ their registration is, in effect, to ask them not to bother at all.
“INEC must clearly explain what happens to Nigerians who, for valid reasons, are unable to travel for this exercise. Are they to lose their right to vote simply because they cannot make it back to designated centres within a narrow window?”the ADC queried.
Furthermore, the opposition party stated that “at a time when voter apathy is already a major challenge, any policy that adds new barriers to participation will only suppress turnout further. And when turnout is suppressed, the credibility of the electoral process is inevitably called into question.
“In this case, the only obvious beneficiary of such confusion is the ruling party.
No matter its stated intentions, INEC must be careful not to lend itself to accusations of helping the ruling party rig the elections before the votes are even cast. The Commission’s credibility rests not just on what it does, but on how its actions are perceived by Nigerians.
“It is equally troubling that such a significant national exercise is only coming to public attention through a leaked memo, allegedly just days before implementation. For an exercise of this magnitude, Nigerians deserve transparency, not ambiguity.
“If any voter revalidation was ever required, it should have been conducted immediately after the last election, not on the eve of another.The ADC therefore calls on INEC to abandon this plan and reassure Nigerians that no policy will be introduced at this critical time that could disenfranchise voters or undermine confidence in the electoral process.”
The ADC, in another statement, also signed by Abdullahi, accused APC-led of sponsoring a protest against the Senator David Mark led National Working Committee (NWC).
The opposition party noted that after an alleged plot to pressure INEC to destabilize it , following the defection of former Kano governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to the platform, the APC is allegedly orchestrating a protest against the leadership.
“Their expectation is that a protest will give oxygen to a case already suffocating in the courts under the weight of its own illegality.
“The plan is simple: a paid crowd, posturing as aggrieved party members, will take to the streets demanding ‘David Mark Must Go.’ This, they hope, will create ‘public pressure’ on the INEC Chairman to magically upgrade and recognise an individual who resigned his position and was subsequently expelled from the ADC, to the position of National Chairman of a party he no longer belongs to.
“The plan by the ruling APC government to hijack the leadership of the ADC, the only viable opposition party left in the country, is real. If anything, it has assumed a new level of desperation in the past few days. They are not just afraid of our momentum. They are afraid of what happens when the Nigerian people start paying attention and begin to believe that change is possible,”it stated.
