Voter Registration: ADC wants a forensic audit as an unusual surge in southwest

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called for an independent forensic audit of the new number of registration of voters released by the Independent National Election Commission (Inec), warning that the credibility of the 2027 general election can be threatened if the anomaly remains not handled.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party described the registration statistics of the first week as “statistically unreasonable,” notes that the difference in data raises serious concerns about the integrity of the Nigerian selection process.

Inec began the National Sustainable Voter Registration (CVR) training on August 18, 2025, with online registration scheduled to run until December 10, 2025, while physical registration at the designated centers will begin on August 25, 2025.

Quoting the numbers issued by Inec, ADC expressed special concern over registration in the southwest, especially Osun state. According to the commission record, Osun recorded 393,269 pre-registration in the first week. The party argues that this figure opposes historical trends, shows that the state only registers 275,815 new voters between 2019 and 2023.

“In one week, Osun reportedly registered more voters than what happened throughout the four -year election cycle,” Abdullahi said. “Even at the peak of mobilization in 2022, the state cannot produce more than 823,124 votes in the governor election. Now, with a miracle, almost 20 percent of adults who meet the requirements have rushed to register within seven days. This is statistically unreasonable.”

ADC further highlighted regional imbalances, noting that the southwest contributed 848,359 pre-registration-or 67 percent of the total national-temporary southeast recorded only 1,998 registration. Three States – Osun, Lagos, and Ogun – each contributed more than half of all new registrations throughout the country, while five states were combined, including Ebonyi, IMO, Enugu, Abia, and Adamawa, noted only 4,153.

“These numbers indicate one of the main technical errors in the digital Inec registration platform or, more unsettling, intentional data manipulation,” the statement continued. “In both cases, Inec owes the Nigerians a clear explanation. The voter list is a credible election foundation, and so compromised, the entire democratic process is damaged.”

ADC urged Inec to immediately issue a forensic audit from the first week registration data, including the details of countries-country-country-country both from online and physical registration, as well as log server, bandwidth distribution, and regional access records for the registration portal.

The party also asked the opposition groups, civil society organizations, and bodies to examine facts to jointly examine these numbers and ask for Inec accountability. In addition, he appealed to international partners, including the United Nations, African Union, and Ecowas, to take initial interest in this issue to protect the credibility of the 2027 selection.