Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has demanded the immediate publication of the preliminary voters’ register, warning that its alleged unavailability online could undermine public confidence in the 2027 general election.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Thursday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said Nigerians had the right to inspect the register, challenge questionable entries and correct omissions ahead of the election.
He faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for announcing more than 103 million registered voters while allegedly failing to make the list accessible on its portal for public scrutiny.
The commission had scheduled a seven-day public scrutiny exercise from October 9 to 15, during which registered voters were expected to verify their details, challenge false entries and report omitted names.
Atiku described the alleged failure to make the register available online during the exercise as a violation of the Electoral Act 2026, citing Section 19(1), which he said requires the register to be displayed at registration areas and online.
He urged INEC to publish the register by local government area, area council and ward, while also providing clarification on conflicting statements attributed to the commission’s chairman regarding the timing of the display.
The former vice-president called on the electoral body to release the dates, links and access records relating to the alleged online publication, insisting that Nigerians deserved transparency in the electoral process.
Atiku also raised concerns about the authentication of ballot papers, citing Section 63(2) of the Electoral Act 2026. He urged INEC to establish clear safeguards against counterfeit ballots and ensure that procedures for verifying ballot papers were transparent and open to scrutiny.
The statement further alleged that INEC had yet to respond to inquiries about companies awarded contracts to print sensitive election materials.
Atiku maintained that political parties and their candidates had a right to information about the procedures that would determine the credibility of the 2027 presidential election.
He accused the commission’s handling of the register of creating room for possible manipulation, arguing that voters must be able to confirm whether their names had been included, omitted or removed.
The ADC chieftain called on international partners, election observers and democratic institutions to urge INEC to comply with the law before election day.
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He stressed that public access to the voters’ register and transparent ballot-paper authentication were essential to building confidence in the electoral process.
The allegations concerning INEC’s online publication of the register and the interpretation of the Electoral Act are attributed to Atiku and his campaign council; they have not been independently verified in this edited report.
