…Ex-VP Demands Answers on 1.6m Deleted Voters, AI-Generated Entries, INEC’s Clean-Up Exercise As Court Judgment Threatens His Presidential Bid
With his participation in the 2027 presidential election still uncertain following a Federal High Court judgment invalidating his nomination, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has turned his attention to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), raising questions over the integrity of the national voters register. Notably, Kthdaily has observed increasing public scrutiny on this issue.
Atiku, in a statement issued through his spokesperson, Paul Ibe, challenged INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, to provide a comprehensive account of the commission’s ongoing clean-up of the register, particularly the removal of more than 1.6 million invalid registrations.
The intervention comes days after the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), including the presidential primary that produced Atiku as the party’s candidate.
Although the affected ADC faction has appealed the judgement, Atiku’s prospects of appearing on the ballot for the January 16, 2027 presidential election remain uncertain. According to Kthdaily, this legal battle raises further questions about Nigeria’s electoral process.
In his latest intervention, Atiku questioned whether INEC had adequately examined older registration records after discovering widespread irregularities in the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
He noted that INEC had announced the removal of 1,608,660 invalid records, representing approximately one in seven registrations captured during the exercise.
However, he expressed concern that the commission had acknowledged that some suspicious entries flagged by Nigerians originated from registration exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023.
“So how much of the older register has actually been checked?” Atiku queried through his spokesperson.
The former Vice President acknowledged that public scrutiny had contributed significantly to the discovery of irregularities, citing INEC’s disclosure that 217,722 invalid entries were identified from approximately 268,000 cases reviewed following complaints.
He nevertheless questioned the commission’s handling of public access to the preliminary register, alleging that its October 26 publication came eight days after the statutory benchmark.
Atiku also complained that the online verification platform automatically signed users out after a short period, making comprehensive scrutiny difficult.
“Would those entries have been caught if Nigerians had stopped demanding access?” he asked.
Ahead of the scheduled December 15 release of the final register, Atiku demanded that Professor Amupitan publish a detailed breakdown of deleted registrations across states, local government areas, and wards, including the reasons for their removal.
He also challenged INEC to disclose whether older registration records had undergone systematic screening or whether the commission merely investigated entries brought to its attention by members of the public.
The former Vice President further demanded clarification on the possibility that legitimate voters might have been wrongly excluded during the clean-up.
He asked the commission to disclose the number of eligible voters affected and explain how such individuals could verify that their records had been restored.
Atiku also raised questions about the 54 individuals reportedly identified by INEC across 10 states in connection with registration irregularities.
He demanded information on actions taken against those implicated and the safeguards introduced to prevent a recurrence.
He drew particular attention to the alleged registration of artificial intelligence-generated photographs.
“What’s the status of the officers who allowed for the registration of AI pictures? Who are they and when would their names be made public in the interest of accountability?” he asked.
Atiku insisted that INEC must subject the clean-up exercise to independent scrutiny if it hoped to strengthen public confidence in the electoral process. As reported by Kthdaily, there is a growing call for transparency in INEC’s operations.
He maintained that political parties and civil society organisations should be permitted to verify that the corrected register eventually deployed at polling units accurately reflects the commission’s published findings.
The former Vice President also invited Nigerians who had experienced difficulties verifying their registration details to share their experiences without disclosing personal information.
KTH Daily reports that Atiku’s renewed scrutiny of INEC comes at a time when his own presidential ambition faces a significant legal obstacle. For more insights, Kthdaily continues coverage on these developments.
The November 6 judgment of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court invalidated the David Mark-led ADC leadership and the decisions taken under it, including the nomination of Atiku as presidential candidate.
The affected faction has approached the Court of Appeal seeking to overturn the judgment.
Until the legal dispute is resolved, uncertainty remains over Atiku’s participation in the election, even as he demands greater transparency from the electoral commission responsible for conducting the polls.
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