Fellow Nigerians,
Once again, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is at it. In a country still nursing the wounds of past electoral controversies, we are now confronted with a sudden nationwide voter revalidation exercise slated to begin on April 13, 2026 — barely months before the 2027 general elections.
What is packaged as a routine “cleaning” of the voters’ register smells of something far more sinister: a calculated strategy to suppress votes and shrink the democratic space.
Let us be clear. A credible voter register is desirable. No serious democracy thrives with ghost voters, duplicates, underage registrants, or the names of the deceased lingering on the roll. But timing is everything.
Why launch this massive nationwide exercise with such short notice and, by all indications, inadequate public awareness?
When millions of ordinary citizens — market women, artisans, students, civil servants, and rural dwellers — remain uninformed or lack easy access to revalidation centres, this ceases to be reform. It becomes disenfranchisement by design.
This is how institutions rig elections without ever touching a ballot box. You do not need to cancel votes when you can simply make them ineligible to be cast in the first place.
A poorly publicised, logistically challenging revalidation process will inevitably exclude large segments of the electorate, particularly the poor, the young, and those in hard-to-reach areas.
The result? A smaller, more “manageable” pool of voters — exactly what those who fear the power of the people would desire.
Nigerians have endured too much. We have seen insecurity, economic hardship, and broken infrastructure met with palliative gimmicks instead of real solutions.
Now, even our sacred right to choose our leaders is being placed behind new bureaucratic hurdles.
The Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) was once promised as permanent.
Today, it appears conditional on jumping through fresh hoops.
As a patriotic Nigerian who loves this country deeply, I say this without fear: we must resist this quietly packaged disenfranchisement. Demand massive, sustained public enlightenment campaigns from INEC.
Insist on extended timelines, multiple accessible centres (including weekends and evenings), robust online functionality that actually works, and full transparency on the process.
Civil society groups, opposition parties, the media, and ordinary citizens must hold INEC accountable.
Our democracy is not a gift from any government or institution — it is a right earned through sacrifice and blood. We cannot allow it to be eroded under the guise of “cleaning the register.”
Nigerians, wake up. Get informed. Revalidate if you must, but more importantly, stay vigilant. The eyes of the people are open. Our determination to protect our votes and defend our democracy will not be dimmed by bureaucratic manoeuvres.
The power belongs to us. Let no one take it away silently.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
By a Concerned Nigerian Columnist, Pamela.O.
