The Action Peoples Party (APP) has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged irregularities and suspected inflation of voter figures in the 2026 Preliminary Register of Voters for the Ugirike/Okwu/Eziama Registration Area (16-08-10) in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State.
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The opposition party alleged that the registration area accounts for 17 per cent of Ikeduru’s registered voters despite having only nine per cent of the local government’s polling units. It has consequently demanded a forensic audit of the register before its final certification scheduled for December 15, 2026.
Key Highlights
- APP has petitioned INEC over alleged voter register padding in Ikeduru LGA, Imo State.
- The party claims Ugirike/Okwu/Eziama Registration Area has 23,984 registered voters across 21 polling units.
- APP says the registration area accounts for 17 per cent of Ikeduru’s voters but only nine per cent of its polling units.
- The party alleges that some polling units have unusually high voter figures, including one with 3,117 registered voters.
- APP wants a forensic audit, biometric verification and removal of invalid entries before December 15, 2026.
- The party has requested access for its representatives to observe the audit and a written response from INEC within 14 days.
The petition, addressed to the INEC National Chairman in Abuja, was received by the commission on November 11, 2026. It was submitted on behalf of the party and its candidate for Imo East Senatorial District, Dr Chima Amadi.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by APP National Chairman, Barrister Uchenna Nnadi, and National Secretary, Abu Ibrahim Bossan, and made available to journalists.
APP Cites Discrepancies in INEC Voter Figures
In its petition, the party said its concerns were based on figures contained in INEC’s preliminary register for the nine local government areas in Owerri Zone.
According to the APP, the Ugirike/Okwu/Eziama Registration Area has 21 of Ikeduru’s 227 polling units but accounts for 23,984 of the local government’s 141,427 registered voters.
The party said this represents approximately 17 per cent of the total registered voters in Ikeduru, despite the registration area having only about nine per cent of the polling units.
It further claimed that polling units in the area have an average of 1,142 registered voters, compared with an average of 570 across the other 206 polling units in the local government.
The APP also drew attention to Eke Amaehi Village Square (16-08-10-021), which it said has 3,117 registered voters, the highest figure among the 2,005 polling units in Owerri Zone.
According to the party, the figure is 932 higher than the 2,185 registered voters recorded at Urban Secondary School, the largest polling unit in Owerri Municipal.
The party also compared the registration area’s voter population with other wards in Ikeduru, claiming that its 23,984 registered voters exceed the 16,014 recorded in Uzoagba, the local government’s next-largest ward, and are more than five times the 4,551 registered voters in Amatta.
APP Raises Concerns Over Voter Distribution in Eziama
The opposition party further alleged that the voter figures were unevenly distributed among communities within the registration area.
It said the ten polling units in Ugirike and Okwu recorded an average of 601 registered voters, which it described as consistent with the wider pattern across Ikeduru.
However, the six polling units in Eziama allegedly recorded an average of 1,640 voters, while three additional polling units, numbered 019 to 021, accounted for 6,901 registered voters.
The APP claimed that eight of Ikeduru’s ten largest polling units were concentrated within the same registration area.
“Neighbouring communities in a single ward do not differ by a factor of nearly three through honest registration,” the party stated.
It argued that the figures raised questions requiring clarification and independent verification by INEC.
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Party Demands Forensic Audit Before December 15
The APP also recalled that INEC acknowledged on October 27, 2026, that irregularities, including suspected AI-generated photographs, had been identified during the public display of the preliminary voter register.
Against this background, the party is demanding a comprehensive forensic audit of every registration record in the Ugirike/Okwu/Eziama Registration Area before the final register is certified on December 15, 2026.
Specifically, it wants INEC to conduct biometric de-duplication using fingerprint and facial recognition technology against the national register, as well as verify the eligibility and residential details of every affected registrant.
The party also requested that the commission disclose the number of registrations recorded in each phase of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise in the nine polling units it identified, including the dates, devices and officers involved.
Other demands include the removal of all invalid records, suspension of disputed entries from the certified register until the audit is completed, and disciplinary action or prosecution of anyone found culpable of manipulating the voter register.
The APP further requested that its representatives be allowed to observe the audit and that INEC provide a written response to its petition within 14 days.
“A padded register in one ward is a fraud on every genuine voter in the senatorial district, whatever party they support,” the party said.
“The people of Imo East will not accept an election conducted on figures that cannot withstand scrutiny.”
The party warned that it reserved the right to pursue all available legal remedies under the Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026, if its complaints were not addressed before the final certification of the register.
The allegations are contained in the APP’s petition and have not been independently established. INEC’s response to the demands will be central to determining how the disputed voter figures are addressed before the 2027 general elections.
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