The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos has rejected claims by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that figures from the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in the state were manipulated.
Responding in a statement on Monday, September 1, INEC’s Head of Voter Education and Publicity in Lagos, Taiwo Gbadegesin, described the allegations as baseless and inaccurate.
“The Lagos registration figures are consistent with past CVR trends and reflect the state’s demographic realities: a large, youthful and tech-savvy population,” Gbadegesin said.
He pointed out that Lagos had also led in the 2021–2022 CVR exercise, when the state recorded the highest number of registrations nationwide. During that period, the voter roll rose from 6,570,291 to 7,060,195.
According to him, the current figures align with this established pattern and should not be viewed with suspicion.
“It is also important to note that the present data covers not only new registrants but also citizens applying for transfers, replacements of lost or damaged Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and updates to personal information. It is therefore inaccurate to equate the totals solely with fresh registrations,” he explained.
Gbadegesin added that the high numbers reflect INEC’s effective deployment of resources and consistent public awareness campaigns across the state. He stressed that transparency remains central to the commission’s work.
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“INEC Lagos operates an open-door policy, making daily registration data available to interested stakeholders.
“The commission urges political actors and the public to please avoid needless speculations and rely on verified data and official information,” he said.
He further assured that INEC Lagos remains committed to delivering free, fair and credible elections, beginning with an inclusive and transparent voter registration process.
INEC had launched the nationwide CVR on August 18, allowing online pre-registration through its official portals before in-person biometric capturing began on August 25.
By the end of the first week, a total of 1,379,342 Nigerians had completed the online pre-registration process.
Osun State topped the chart with 393,269 registrants, representing 28.51 percent of the total. Lagos followed with 222,205 entries, accounting for 16.11 percent, while Ogun recorded 132,823 registrations, about 9.63 percent.
Despite this, the ADC has continued to question the authenticity of the figures, raising doubts about the process.