INEC demands N1.5bn for Certified True Copy of national register of voters

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved an application for the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the National Register of Voters and all existing polling units in Nigeria at a cost of N1.5 billion. In a letter dated October 13, and signed by Rose Oriaran-Anthony, Secretary to the Commission, INEC acknowledged […]

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved an application for the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the National Register of Voters and all existing polling units in Nigeria at a cost of N1.5 billion.

In a letter dated October 13, and signed by Rose Oriaran-Anthony, Secretary to the Commission, INEC acknowledged receipt of a request from V-C Ottakopkupu & Associates seeking the CTC under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2011.

The letter stated that the Commission had approved the request “for a copy of the National Register of Voters for the entire country and the existing polling units in all the Electoral Wards in Nigeria pursuant to section 15 of the Electoral Act 2022.”

INEC, however, requested the payment of N1,505,901,750 (One Billion, Five Hundred and Five Million, Nine Hundred and One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty Naira) as the cost of producing the certified copy. The payment, the letter said, should be made through the Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR) platform before processing the request.

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When contacted, the commission in a statement explained why it approved the sum of N1.5 billion as the cost of producing Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the National Register of Voters and existing polling units across the country.

In the statement issued on October 16, and signed by Mrs. Victoria Eta-Messi, Director of Voter Education and Publicity, INEC confirmed that the request and the quoted amount were genuine.

The Commission said the sum was computed based on the actual cost of duplication, in line with Section 8(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, which allows a public institution to charge “an amount representing the actual cost of document duplication and transcription.”

According to INEC, the National Register of Voters contains 93,469,008 registered voters, with 16 voters per page, amounting to 6,018,661 pages. In addition, printing details of the 176,848 polling units across all electoral wards requires 4,946 pages—bringing the total to 6,023,607 pages.

At a unit cost of N250 per page, as stipulated in INEC’s CTC Guidelines derived from Section 15 of the Electoral Act 2022, the total amounts to N1,505,901,750.

The Commission stressed that the figure reflects only the actual cost of duplication and transcription and not any other form of charge.

“INEC remains committed to transparency, accountability, and the responsible management of public resources,” the statement added.