2027: APP petitions INEC over suspected padding of voter register in Imo LG

The occasion alleged that one ward holds 17 per cent of Ikeduru’s voters in 9 per cent of its polling items, demanding a forensic audit earlier than the register is licensed on December 15, 2026.

The petition, addressed to the INEC National Chairman in Abuja and obtained by his workplace on November 11, 2026, was filed on behalf of the occasion and its candidate for Imo East senatorial district, Dr Chima Amadi.

“The ward has 21 of Ikeduru’s 227 polling units but 23,984 of its 141,427 registered voters; its polling units average 1,142 voters, against 570 across Ikeduru’s other 206 units.

“Eke Amaehi Village Square (16-08-10-021) data 3,117 voters, the best of all 2,005 polling items in Owerri Zone; that’s 932 greater than the biggest unit in Owerri Municipal (Urban Secondary School, 2,185).

“The ward has more voters than Uzoagba (16,014 across 30 units), Ikeduru’s next-largest ward, and more than five times Amatta (4,551).

“In the identical ward, the ten Ugirike and Okwu items common 601 voters, in keeping with the remainder of the LGA. The six Eziama items common 1,640, and three additional items (019–021) maintain 6,901 between them. Eight of Ikeduru’s ten largest polling items sit on this one ward. Neighbouring communities in a single ward don’t differ by an element of practically three by trustworthy registration,” the party said.

The APP noted that INEC itself acknowledged on October 27, 2026, that irregularities, including suspected AI-generated photographs, were found during public display of the preliminary register.

The APP demanded that a forensic audit of every record in the registration area, starting with units 16-08-10-011 to 016 and 019 to 021, be completed before the final register is certified on December 15, 2026.

“Full biometric de-duplication (fingerprint and facial) towards the nationwide register, and verification of every registrant’s eligibility and residence. Disclosure, for these 9 items, of what number of registrations have been added in every part of Continuous Voter Registration, when, and by which units and officers,” the APP demanded.

It also asked for the “elimination of each invalid document, with affected entries withheld from the licensed register till the audit is full.”

While demanding disciplinary action and prosecution for anyone found to have helped inflate the register, the party requested access for its representatives to observe the audit, and a written response within 14 days.

“A padded register in a single ward is a fraud on each real voter within the senatorial district, no matter occasion they help,” the party said. “The individuals of Imo East is not going to settle for an election carried out on figures that can’t face up to scrutiny.”