INEC Links Voter Register Irregularities to Registration Officers

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that the inclusion of questionable entries in its preliminary voters' register is due to misconduct by some registration officers. Dr Lawrence Bayode, the commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, revealed this during an interview on Arise Television.

He explained that some field officers exploited their access to introduce irregularities into the voter database. INEC identified these anomalies through its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).

Bayode noted that the irregularities were widespread across different states and included AI-generated photographs as well as poor registration practices. Although INEC has traced how these irregularities were introduced, the motives behind the actions of the implicated officers remain unclear.

The commission is currently working to sanitize the register within the legally prescribed 90-day period, following public criticism over suspicious photographs and discrepancies in the preliminary voters' register uploaded on October 26.