The Independent National Electoral Commission has dismissed allegations of irregularities in its online pre-registration data for the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration.

The chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, made the clarification in a statement in Abuja. This followed a  statement from the African Democratic Congress raising concerns over the numbers.

The ADC, through its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the figures from Osun as “suspicious” and a challenge to “historical patterns and demographic realities.”

Mr Abdullahi claimed that the nearly 400,000 new registrations in just seven days for Osun exceeded the state’s total new voters from the last four years combined. He also noted that the South West zone accounted for an “extraordinary 67 per cent” of all nationwide pre-registrations.

However, Mr Oyekanmi said the claim was “further from the truth,” explaining  that the pattern of high online registration numbers for Osun was not new.

He explained that, based on the released data for the one-week online pre-registrations, INEC recorded 1,379,342 registrants in Osun, with 393,269 leading the way, followed by Lagos with 222,205, and then the Federal Capital Territory with 107,682.

Mr Oyekanmi also provided historical data from the 2021 CVR exercise, showing that Osun consistently led in online pre-registrations. He stated that within the first 24 hours of launching the portal on June 28, 2021, a total of 59,331 accounts were created.

“By the second week on July 12, 2021, a total of 456,909 accounts were active. Interestingly, Osun led with 154,893 pre-registrations at the time. In the third week, 752,011 persons had pre-registered, and Osun was at the front with 232,880. By the eighth week, on August 23, 2021, a total of 2,215,832 persons had pre-registered, with Osun still leading with 365,412.

“In the 11th week of the exercise on September 13, 2021, a total of 2,953,094 individuals had pre-registered, with Osun still in the lead with 402,619. By April 18, 2022, a total of 8,271,647 Nigerians had pre-registered, and Osun was ahead of all states with 708,782 registrations,” Mr Oyekanmi said.

He said a simple search of past public records would have provided the political party with the facts.

(NAN)