Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to commence a nationwide voter register revalidation exercise on April 13 as part of preparations for the 2027 general election.
Gatekeepers News reports that the exercise is aimed at updating and sanitising the voter database to improve the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process.
In a directive signed by Rose Oriaran-Anthony, secretary to the commission, resident electoral commissioners across the country have been instructed to begin necessary preparations, including deploying personnel and readying voter enrolment devices for the exercise.
INEC outlined a phased timeline for the revalidation, starting at the local government area (LGA) level from April 13 to May 2. The process will then move to registration areas between May 5 and May 11, followed by polling units from May 13 to May 19. A second phase at the LGA level is scheduled to run from May 20 to May 29.
Ahead of the nationwide rollout, the commission conducted a training-of-trainers workshop on March 30 at its Electoral Institute to prepare officials for the exercise.
Chairman of the institute’s board, Kunle Ajayi, emphasised the importance of maintaining a credible voter register, noting that the integrity of elections depends largely on the accuracy of voter data.
INEC had earlier explained that the revalidation is necessary to address persistent issues in the voter register, including duplicate and underage registrations, entries of non-citizens, and records of deceased persons, all of which undermine public confidence in elections.
The exercise is expected to play a key role in strengthening the credibility of the electoral system ahead of the next general election cycle.
