2027 Politics Watch: From Atiku’s register demands to Tinubu’s borrowing defence, Friday’s roundup

The Chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan

Opposition demands for scrutiny of Nigeria’s voters’ register intensified on Friday after an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said registration officers had introduced irregular entries, including AI-generated photographs, into the database.

Atiku Abubakar sought the identities of implicated officials and election-material contractors, while the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) demanded answers about reports of deceased people remaining on the register. INEC said it was correcting irregularities ahead of certification on 15 December.

The exchanges unfolded alongside a dispute over President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing plans, questions about the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) support for his re-election and conflicting accounts of campaign incidents in several states.

In a statement issued on Friday by his campaign’s strategic communication director, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku demanded the identification and prosecution of officials found responsible for irregular registration records.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate also called for an independent forensic audit and the preservation of voter records, image files, access logs and audit trails for independeAtiku Abubakar and the NDC pressed INEC over questionable voter records as the commission promised corrections before certification. Friday’s exchanges also covered borrowing, nomination disputes, the PDP’s support for Tinubu and conflicting accounts of campaign incidents.nt examination.

He sought disclosure of the companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials and the safeguards governing their work. He threatened court action to compel disclosure if INEC refused to provide the information.

“INEC must not quietly ‘clean up’ the register and bury the evidence,” he said.

The statement referred to an allegation that more than 20 million AI-generated images might be involved but provided no evidence to substantiate the figure.

In a separate statement, ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi called for an independent forensic audit and an investigation of electoral officials linked to registration irregularities.

Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, separately asked INEC to disclose the number and geographical distribution of flagged records. Mr Ibe called for an independent forensic audit involving political parties and credible civil society observers. He also sought publication of INEC’s investigation findings and corrective measures, with voters’ personal data protected.

“Every eligible voter must also be protected against wrongful deletion during the cleanup,” he wrote.

He also described INEC’s clearance and rejection of candidates as a distraction from questions about the register.

The NDC raised a different concern. In a statement reported on Friday, campaign spokesperson Chiogo Constance Ikokwu questioned reports that deceased Nigerians remained on the register.

The party sought an audit of INEC’s processes and clear procedures for objections, including an opportunity for people wrongly reported dead to respond.

INEC’s Director of ICT, Lawrence Bayode, told ARISE News on Friday that some registration officers across the states had introduced irregular records because they had access to the registration system.

He said the commission knew how some irregularities occurred but could not explain the officers’ motives. He said identified irregularities had been removed and promised that further corrections would precede the final register’s release on 15 December.

Mr Bayode distinguished the suspicious photographs from INEC’s own use of AI for chatbots and logistics, saying the commission had not deployed AI for voter registration.

In its earlier clarification, dated 27 October, INEC said the register published online on 26 October was the preliminary version displayed physically from 9 to 15 October. It said that version did not reflect all ongoing corrections.

Separately, Chairman Joash Amupitan told a mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Friday that the national register had surpassed 103 million voters and nine of the election timetable’s 14 major statutory milestones had been completed.

The statements reviewed do not establish a verified nationwide total of irregular records. The opposition’s demands extend beyond removing entries to identifying responsibility and allowing independent examination of the evidence.

INEC also published the outcome of its review of governorship and state assembly nomination complaints.

In the statement, dated Thursday and posted on Friday, it said 41 of 69 governorship petitions succeeded, alongside 25 of 61 state assembly petitions. Together, 66 petitions succeeded and 64 failed.

The commission approved some inclusions and removed names found inconsistent with party membership registers or other nomination requirements. It said the affected parties, candidates and states would appear in updated lists.

Okorocha and Uzodimma contest Imo West ticket

Another nomination dispute featured in Friday’s reporting on Rochas Okorocha’s challenge to Governor Hope Uzodimma.

The Federal High Court had ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC) to submit Mr Okorocha’s name for Imo West. In a Thursday interview, the former governor alleged irregularities in documents supporting Mr Uzodimma’s claim to the ticket.

The governor’s camp rejected the judgement and announced plans to challenge it. The Imo APC also maintained that Mr Uzodimma won the primary.

The borrowing debate shifted towards what the government could show for its loans.

In an essay reported by Arise News on Friday, Mr Tinubu argued that infrastructure investment would expand production, create jobs and improve living standards. He identified major highways, electricity upgrades and port modernisation among the intended investments.

PREMIUM TIMES previously reported the president’s request for approximately $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion under a supplementary external borrowing plan. The request was referred to Senate committees for scrutiny.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole defended infrastructure borrowing on Friday but said the Senate committee must examine the request and project details before plenary deliberations.

The PDP’s Bayelsa chairman, George Turner, maintained that Sandy Onor remained its presidential candidate, even as he defended the party’s support for Mr Tinubu through the Rainbow Coalition.

Mr Turner said participating parties could retain their candidates while backing agreed candidates at different levels. At the presidential level, he said, the coalition had chosen Mr Tinubu, with participating candidates expected to mobilise support for him.

APC campaign council member Francis Okoye welcomed the support but cautioned against complacency, identifying the ADC and NDC as significant challengers.

In Ekiti, Omoyele Sowore and the police gave conflicting accounts of Friday’s incident at a restaurant in Ado-Ekiti.

The African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate alleged that government-sponsored armed men attacked him and his team. The police rejected reports that he had been kidnapped, describing an altercation with some individuals and saying officers intervened.

The command said Mr Sowore sustained a minor injury and received medical attention. He disputed its description of the incident. Police ordered an investigation; the allegation of government sponsorship remains unproven.

In a response reported on Friday, Amadeo Event Centre said its dispute with organisers of an NDC event involving Peter Obi concerned a booking made for an association’s conference.

The company said the subsequent use of political decorations breached that agreement. It said it eventually allowed Thursday’s event to proceed as a youth town hall meeting.

The centre denied receiving government instructions to stop the event. Governor Peter Mbah had also denied the NDC’s allegation that he intervened.

In Katsina, police announced the arrest of 14 suspects over Wednesday’s attack on APC supporters travelling to the Tinubu–Dikko campaign flag-off in Funtua.

Police said a female passenger was injured and vehicles damaged along the Yashi–Funtua road in Malumfashi. They did not establish the suspects’ political affiliation or motive.

The incident occurred on the approach route. The state APC’s earlier description of a peaceful rally concerned the event at Funtua Township Stadium; it did not specifically address the road attack.