African Democratic Congress (ADC), Labour Party (LP) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have raised fresh concerns over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) latest voter registration figures, questioning how Osun State continues to top the charts from 2021 through 2022 and now into 2025.
Data released by INEC shows that Osun has consistently recorded the highest number of online pre-registrations and completed voter registrations in multiple phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
2021/2022 CVR: Osun State led the exercise with over 708,000 pre-registrations by April 2022, ahead of larger states like Lagos and Kano.
January 2022: The state recorded 234,627 completed registrations and 590,910 pre-registrations, the highest nationwide.
April 2022: Osun again topped with 360,548 completed registrations during the fourth quarter of the exercise.
August 2025: In just the first week of the new CVR, Osun registered 393,269 online pre-registrations, more than any other state.
However, opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), have rejected the figures, describing them as “statistically implausible.” They argue that Osun registered more voters in just seven days of 2025 than it did over four years between 2019 and 2023. The parties are demanding a forensic audit of INEC’s voter registration servers and full disclosure of backend data.
INEC has dismissed the allegations, insisting that the figures are consistent with Osun’s “historical patterns and demographic realities.” The Commission stressed that all registrants must still undergo physical biometric capture and that its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) will weed out duplicate or ineligible entries.
Observers note that voter mobilization during Osun’s 2022 governorship election and strong grassroots political activity may have contributed to the state’s unusual dominance in voter registration drives.
For now, Osun State remains at the centre of Nigeria’s voter registration debate, as opposition parties continue to question how it has managed to consistently lead the nation in new voter enrolments.
