The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has unveiled plans to use the National Identification Number (NIN) to sanitise Nigeria’s voter register ahead of the 2027 general election, targeting duplicate, fake and underage registrations.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed this on Wednesday while receiving the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and her management team during a courtesy visit to the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Amupitan said the newly signed National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act, 2026, provides the legal backing for closer collaboration between INEC and NIMC to strengthen the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process.
He explained that identity fraud, multiple registrations and voter impersonation have remained major challenges during elections, stressing that integrating the voter register with the National Identity Number database would help eliminate such irregularities.
“Voter identity can easily be stolen, easily be impersonated, easily be duplicated,” he said, expressing confidence that the new legal framework would make it easier to detect and eliminate electoral fraud.
According to him, with over 136 million Nigerians already enrolled in the national identity database, INEC will continuously verify voter records, identify duplicate registrations and remove underage and ineligible names from the register.
The INEC chairman also revealed that the Commission’s voter register still contains the names of deceased Nigerians, some dating back to 2011, making collaboration with NIMC necessary to clean up the database before the next general election.
He added that the Commission’s online Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) platform has already been built around the National Identification Number as the primary means of verifying applicants.
Amupitan said a cleaner voter register would boost public confidence in elections and reduce the cost of conducting polls by eliminating unnecessary printing of electoral materials.
He also disclosed that eligible voters whose Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are lost, damaged or defaced can apply for replacements, including printable PVCs, provided such requests are made at least 90 days before an election.
The INEC boss, however, cautioned against the misuse of artificial intelligence in election management, saying appropriate safeguards must be put in place to protect the integrity of electoral data.
Earlier, NIMC Director-General, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the NIMC Act 2026 into law on June 26 after nearly two decades of legislative efforts.
She said the law repositions NIMC as Nigeria’s digital identity authority and provides a solid foundation for secure identity management, national planning and credible elections.
Coker-Odusote assured INEC of NIMC’s full support as preparations begin for the 2027 general election.
She said the collaboration between both agencies would strengthen identity verification, improve the accuracy of the voter register and deepen public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral system.
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