The Osun State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Thursday, expressed concern over the statistics released by the Independent National Electoral Commission on the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration in the state.
PDP said INEC’s figures indicate that “over 470,000 Nigerians in Osun State have reportedly commenced their registration online within two weeks.”
The party, however, said less than 600 registrants were recorded to have completed the in-person process as of the time the commission released its report.
In a statement signed by its Director of Media, Oladele Bamiji, the PDP questioned the disparity between the number of online pre-registrants and those who have completed the mandatory in-person registration exercise in the state.
It described the situation as “a worrisome gap that raises serious questions about the transparency, credibility, and efficiency of the registration process.”
The party said, “It is unacceptable for INEC to continue to churn out figures without creating a verifiable and transparent process for political parties and stakeholders to monitor, so much so that the exercise is, after all, mainly to allow Nigerian citizens to participate in the electoral process and not any personal or rocket science.”
Further expressing concern, the party said, “Beyond being a mere statistical error, the deliberate under-reporting of Osun’s CVR figure raises serious questions about the credibility of INEC’s data management.
How could over 25,000 duly completed registrations physically captured by INEC officials across Osun suddenly shrink to just 500 registrations in the national office’s report? Such a gaping disparity cannot be waved aside as a clerical mistake.
“It is inconceivable and unacceptable that Osun, a state where daily averages of 1,500 to 2,000 voters complete their in-person registration, would be falsely presented with only 500 completed registrations for the entire reporting period. This contradiction directly insults the intelligence of the electorate and dangerously undermines confidence in the commission’s preparedness for the August 2026 governorship election as well as the 2027 general election.”
Demanding that INEC immediately correct “this manipulated data, publish the authentic Osun figure of 25,000+ completed registrations without delay, and explain why such a wide gulf exists between field records and the national report,” the PDP said anything short of this would be tantamount to a calculated attempt to disenfranchise Osun citizens and lay a foundation for electoral fraud.
“How do we reconcile nearly half a million online registrants with barely half a thousand completing their registration physically? This inconsistency must be explained with verifiable and traceable evidence,” the statement read.
The party also demanded a detailed report of completed registrations, including Voter Card transfer applications received and processed by the commission across all designated centres to accredited political party representatives, as well as Civil Society Organisations.
It also called for the opening up of the registration process to independent scrutiny by stakeholders to ensure that the process was free of manipulation or exaggerated for possible fraudulent motives.
“It is not enough for INEC to dump figures on Nigerians without giving room for authentication and verification. Our democracy demands openness, and Osun PDP will continue to insist on transparency in the voter registration process as the foundation of credible elections,” the party stated.
Earlier, the African Democratic Congress had raised concerns over the figures Osun got in the online registration exercise, saying the figures are ‘statistically implausible.’
But Osun INEC, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Musa Olurode, on behalf of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Mutiu Agboke, dismissed the allegation, saying the state has consistently demonstrated remarkable civic enthusiasm and responsiveness to voter registration.
“During the CVR exercise preceding the 2022 Governorship Election and the 2023 General Elections, Osun State led all other states of the federation in online pre-registration. This is not a matter of conjecture but a verifiable fact from official INEC records.
“The people of Osun State have shown, time and again, their uncommon commitment to electoral participation, which translated into massive voter mobilisation and impressive registration figures. It is pertinent to emphasise that online pre-registration is only the first step in the voter registration process. It does not in itself confer the status of a registered voter unless validated by physical or in-person biometric capture at designated INEC centres. Therefore, any attempt to create the impression that online pre-registration figures automatically translate into actual voter registration is unfounded.
“The ADC’s claim of ‘statistical implausibility’ is untrue. The figures recorded so far are consistent with the State’s history of active civic engagement and should rather be celebrated as evidence of growing democratic awareness rather than disparaged with baseless insinuations,” INEC said.
