2027 Elections: Political Storm Over PVC Revalidation
By: Abudu Olalekan
The 2027 elections are still some way off, but the political temperature is already rising. And right at the center of it? A controversial voter revalidation exercise announced by INEC.
Opposition parties, the Obidient movement, and civil society groups came out swinging on Sunday. They’re warning that this whole thing could disenfranchise millions and completely shatter whatever trust is left in the electoral system.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, didn’t mince words when he spoke to Reportersroom. “How does INEC expect Nigerians to carry out this revalidation exercise across all polling units, wards, local governments, and states?” he asked. “Even getting people to register in the first place is difficult.”
He painted a clear picture of the struggle, especially for rural folks. “These are people who may not even have money to eat. You’re asking them to abandon their jobs, go queue at polling units or INEC offices… They just don’t want to go to the election. It is as simple as that.”
Ini Ememobong of the PDP was equally blunt. He called the timing completely wrong and accused INEC of playing politics. “The voter register has been there since the last election. Why wait until now?” According to him, this move, combined with other actions like checking political parties’ offices, smells like an attempt to weaken the opposition and smooth the way for an easy win for the ruling party.
Yunusa Tanko, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, didn’t hold back either. He said the exercise could slash already low turnout numbers even further. With over 98 million registered voters but only about 25 million actually voting last time, he believes many people simply don’t trust INEC anymore. “A revalidation will further reduce the number… This is one of the gimmicks by the ruling party to reduce the number of people who plan to vote for the opposition.”
Civil society groups raised similar red flags. Auwal Rafsanjani of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre told Reportersroom the timing is terrible and the commission lacks both the manpower and technology to pull it off smoothly. “This exercise is going to be extremely difficult for them to conduct successfully,” he said. Many Nigerians already see it as a calculated move to keep them out of the process.
Friday Odeh from Accountability Lab Nigeria took a more balanced view. He admitted revalidation might be necessary but insisted it doesn’t fix the deeper problem. “There’s still a trust problem with INEC,” he said. Without rebuilding confidence, even a cleaned-up register won’t get more people to the polls.
Debo Adeniran of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership was more direct. He called the whole idea unnecessary. “When they say something is permanent, it is not supposed to be subjected to periodic revalidation,” he argued. “That means they didn’t think out the strategy before they adopted it.”
Interestingly, INEC had planned to run the exercise from April 13 to May 29, 2026. Their public notice said it wasn’t a fresh registration but a cleanup targeting deceased persons, non-Nigerians, underage voters, and multiple registrations. The goal was to make the register more accurate and credible.
But then came the sudden U-turn. In a letter dated April 4, 2026, signed by Secretary Rose Oriaran-Anthony, the commission told all Resident Electoral Commissioners to suspend every preparation — no hiring staff, no getting devices ready, no publicity. They even changed an upcoming physical meeting with RECs to a virtual one on Zoom.
A former INEC official, Oluwole Uzzi, confirmed the commission does have the legal power to do this kind of exercise. “Constitutionally, INEC has the right,” he told Reportersroom. But even he admitted the timing is problematic. “Whether it’s an opportune time… that’s a totally different issue. That’s a political issue.”
He also pointed out that Continuous Voter Registration has been running for months. So why push revalidation now, just months before the election? “A few months to the election, it’s not an opportune time,” Uzzi said.
Right now, the whole situation feels messy. Opposition parties see it as deliberate suppression. Civil society groups worry about rural voters getting left behind. And ordinary Nigerians? Many are already angry and confused.
Whether INEC eventually goes ahead or not, one thing is clear: this revalidation drama has only deepened the distrust. And with 2027 approaching, that’s the last thing the country needs.
