The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is facing growing demands for clarification following reports that the number of registered voters at a polling unit associated with Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, increased from 397 in 2024 to 4,783 in the Commission’s 2026 preliminary voters’ register.
The figures represent an increase of 4,386 voters, equivalent to approximately 1,105 per cent within two years, raising questions about the registration records and the changes made to the affected polling unit ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The disputed polling unit is identified as 12-03-02-001, Udomi Primary School, in Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo State.
The discrepancy was highlighted by MundX Analytics, an election data and monitoring organisation, during a joint press conference with Actizens Social Impact Foundation (ASIF) in Awka, Anambra State.
Martin Uwakwe, representing MundX Analytics, said the organisation’s comparison of the 2024 governorship election records with INEC’s newly published preliminary register showed that the polling unit had 397 registered voters during the September 2024 election but now recorded 4,783.
He questioned how the number could have increased by more than eleven times within two years and called on INEC to provide a documented explanation.
The development has attracted attention because of the polling unit’s reported association with Governor Okpebholo, making transparency surrounding the figures particularly important to public confidence in the electoral process.
The controversy also comes amid broader concerns raised by election-monitoring groups over the integrity of the preliminary voters’ register, including alleged questionable voter photographs and inconsistencies in the number of polling-unit records.
MundX Analytics and ASIF have called for an independent examination of the disputed entries to establish whether the changes resulted from legitimate administrative processes or irregularities requiring corrective action.
INEC’s own records show that Edo State recorded 119,206 newly registered voters during the Continuous Voter Registration exercise conducted ahead of the 2024 governorship election. The Commission also documented 8,847 transfers into Edo State from other states and 46,171 transfers between registration areas within the state.
However, those statewide figures do not explain the reported increase at the specific Udomi polling unit.
The Commission has previously explained that voter transfers, registration updates and biometric verification form part of its voter-register management process. Nevertheless, the precise circumstances behind the reported change at the disputed polling unit remain unclear.
The groups are therefore demanding that INEC publish the relevant records and explain how the 2024 figure of 397 became 4,783 in the 2026 preliminary register.
The concerns extend beyond Edo State. MundX Analytics recently reported discrepancies in its nationwide review of INEC’s preliminary register, including differences between its count of polling-unit records and the figures previously announced by the electoral commission.
The findings have intensified calls for greater transparency as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections, with election observers stressing the importance of accurate voter records in protecting the credibility of the electoral process.
INEC must now address the specific questions surrounding the Udomi polling unit: Were thousands of new voters registered there? Were voters transferred into the unit from other locations? Were polling-unit boundaries or administrative records changed? And can the Commission provide verifiable documentation supporting the new figure?
These questions deserve clear answers, not speculation or political accusations.
The integrity of the voters’ register is fundamental to credible elections. Every registered voter must be accounted for, every transfer must be traceable, and every significant change in polling-unit figures must be capable of independent verification.
As the 2027 elections approach, INEC owes Nigerians a transparent explanation of the figures and the records behind them.
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