Former Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, has raised an alarm over what he calls “impossible voter registration numbers” from the South-West region in the ongoing continuous voter registration exercise. He warned that this trend could be a prelude to widespread electoral manipulation in the lead-up to the 2027 general elections.

Melaye’s intervention has generated mixed reactions online. While some Nigerians have praised his concerns as timely, others have mocked him, suggesting he “put his new legal certification to test” by pursuing a formal challenge in court.

Data released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) shows a total of 1,379,342 new registrations in the first week. Of this total, Osun State alone accounted for a staggering 393,269 registrations, representing 28.5% of the national figure. This number is particularly striking as it is 142% higher than the 275,815 voters Osun State added over a four-year period between 2019 and 2023. Lagos State followed with 222,205 new registrations (16.1%), and Ogun State recorded 132,823 (9.6%).

In stark contrast, the entire South-East region, which comprises five states, collectively recorded just 1,998 registrations, amounting to a mere 0.14% of the national total. This implies that Osun State alone registered nearly 200 times more voters than the entire South-East.

Adding to the controversy, INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu recently announced that physical Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will no longer be mandatory, and that computer-generated slips will be used alongside the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). Critics argue this reform could remove crucial safeguards against fraud, as digital slips can, in theory, be generated indefinitely, bypassing the physical bottlenecks that previously limited abuse.

The current figures are also a cause for concern when compared to Nigeria’s historical electoral data. Between 2019 and 2023, the country added 9.4 million new voters over four years, while the current registration drive has produced 1.3 million in just one week.

Melaye and other critics insist that opposition parties, civil society organizations, the legal community, and the media must act swiftly before the system becomes entrenched.