Politics
Politicians Seeks Early Release Of e-Voter Cards
Some politicians on Monday in Lagos appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to ensure an early distribution of the electronic voter cards in 2013.
The politicians, who spoke in separate interviews with The Tide agreed that if this was done, it would ensure early detection and correction of mistakes that could arise thereof. The Tide reports that Prof. Attahiru Jega, the INEC Chairman, said in November 2012 that the commission was ready to issue permanent electronic voter cards that would be valid for 10 years.
He said, “with the design of the card and specifications, it will serve for an average of 10 years, as it could also be used for the 2019 elections.”
The INEC chief said the electronic voter card would eliminate fraud and ensure credible and transparent polls. He made the pledge at an INEC/civil society dialogue, on plans and progress towards the 2015 elections in Abuja.
A former National Chairman of the defunct Progressive Action Council (PAC), Chief Charles Nwodo, expressed dissatisfaction over the commissions’ readiness to conduct credible election in 2015.
“As far as we are concerned, we are still far from free, fair and transparent elections in this country.
“Since INEC announced the readiness of the electronic permanent voter cards, nobody has seen it and they have not started distributing it. We expected that the conduct of other elections should involve the use of that electronic permanent voter cards.
“This will confirm the authenticity of the card with a view to discovering mistakes, so that it will be amended before the 2015 elections,’’ he said.
Mr Damian Ogbonna, the National Chairman of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), also urged INEC to commence the distribution of the cards early.
“The Ekiti election is by the corner; I expect that INEC should sample the permanent electronic voter cards. `We expected that after the announcement of INEC, that distribution will commence so that every mistakes will be corrected before the next elections,’’ he said.
Ogbonna said a situation where INEC rushed through things was wrong, adding that nothing would be done properly and the whole process would be a mess. He said that no good would come out of any election that was done in a rush.
Ogbonna urged the commission to provide those cards to the electorate, if they were indeed ready for use in the 2015 elections.
Mr Abraham Breakforth, the Executive Director, Global Initiative for African Development (GIFAD)— a non- governmental organisation, also said it would be proper for INEC to commence early distribution of the cards. According to him, this is the only way the commission can win back the confidence of the electorate.
“INEC, since mid 2012, has been saying that the electronic voter card is ready, yet no one has seen it. As it is now, electorates are fast losing confidence in the electoral body, because they believe that INEC is not sincere,’’ he said.
Prof. Amupitan gave the warning on Saturday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement organised ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said insecurity remained a potential challenge to the electoral process but stressed that the Commission would not allow threats against its personnel to undermine its constitutional responsibilities.
“Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger. Let me again send a clear message from Port Harcourt: anyone who attempts to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law,” he said.
The INEC Chairman, who was accompanied by National Commissioners, directors and technical aides, disclosed that the South-South engagement was the fifth in a series of zonal assessments, following similar exercises in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East.
He explained that his physical presence across the geopolitical zones reflected the Commission’s field-first approach, emphasising that electoral integrity must be established through effective operations at the grassroots.
According to him, the assessment would cover operational preparedness across the 123 Local Government Areas in the six South-South states.
On election security, Prof. Amupitan said INEC had moved away from reactive security arrangements traditionally activated around election day to a proactive, intelligence-driven framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle”.
He explained that the framework was designed to extend inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters to local government areas and Registration Area Centres, including remote communities.
He identified three critical pillars of the framework as mapping and mitigating security threats, protecting electoral personnel and infrastructure, and guaranteeing safe access to polling units.
The INEC boss said the security arrangement would provide comprehensive protection for electoral personnel, technological infrastructure, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and server infrastructure, as well as voters.
He added that the framework was intended to ensure that every polling unit, irrespective of its geographical location or history of security challenges, remained safe and accessible for the exercise of democratic rights.
Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the South-South security architecture comprised approximately 60 major operational formations, headquarters and state commands operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The network, he said, brings together military, naval, air, police and other security and intelligence agencies across the six states.
“Together, this integrated multi-agency network represents the operational backbone that guarantees intelligence-led protection across every riverine creek, coastal axis, and land-based polling unit in the Niger Delta,” he stated.
Providing an overview of the region’s electoral significance, the INEC Chairman said the South-South had the fourth-largest voting bloc in the country, with 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of the national register.
Rivers State alone, he said, accounts for 3,736,434 registered voters spread across the 23 local government areas.
Alhaji Abubakar made the demand following revelations that some INEC registration officers allegedly abused their access to the voter registration system to introduce irregular records into the database.
In a statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president described the development as a serious breach of the Commission’s internal safeguards and raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
He urged INEC to identify the officials implicated in the alleged misconduct and explain what disciplinary or legal measures had been taken against them.
Alhaji Abubakar also called for an independent forensic audit of the preliminary voters’ register to establish the scale of the alleged manipulation, identify affected records and determine how the questionable entries were introduced into the system.
He further insisted that INEC preserve all relevant voter records, image files, system access logs and electronic audit trails to prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence before an independent examination could be conducted.
The former vice-president also demanded that the Commission disclose the identities of companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 polls, arguing that transparency was essential to building public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, had earlier disclosed during a television interview that some registration officers across the country allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the voters’ database.
Dr Bayode explained that the Commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System helped identify questionable records and establish how some irregularities entered the system.
He, however, clarified that not all suspicious photographs were AI-generated, as some resulted from poor registration procedures.
The development followed public concerns over suspected AI-generated photographs, alleged duplicate entries and other inconsistencies discovered in the preliminary voters’ register published online on October 26, 2026.
INEC has maintained that the published document is a preliminary register and that it is reviewing questionable records ahead of the certification of the final Register of Voters.
The controversy has intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the voters’ register as preparations gather momentum for the 2027 general elections.
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