INEC Debunks Viral Claim of Over 1,200 Votes from Polling Unit with 345 Voters
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has firmly denied a viral social media report claiming that a polling unit in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded 1,219 votes for a political party during Saturday’s Area Council election, despite having only 345 registered voters.
The allegation, which targeted the Kuroko Health Centre polling unit in Yangoji Ward, Kwali Area Council, suggested possible result manipulation. INEC described the claim as “untrue and misleading.”
In a detailed statement signed by its Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for FCT, Aminu K. Idris, the commission provided a point-by-point correction, attributing the discrepancy to a data entry error by a Presiding Officer. The commission confirmed the matter was internally investigated.
According to INEC, after the sorting and counting of ballots at the polling unit on election day, the All Progressives Congress (APC) was initially recorded as having 122 votes. “On tallying everything, she noticed an overshoot by one (1),” the statement explained. “So, they had to recount the ballots in the open, and that was when she realized that APC should have 121 votes, not 122.”
The Presiding Officer subsequently corrected the figure by cancelling the ‘2’ and replacing it with a ‘1’ on the results sheet, also updating the figure written out in words. INEC emphasized that the official result uploaded from the polling unit and visible on its online Result Viewer (IREV) correctly shows 121 votes for the APC.
This accurate figure of 121 was the one formally entered into the Ward Collation Form (EC8B). INEC stated that the same number was used for all subsequent collations at the Ward and Area Council levels, meaning the 1,219 figure cited online was never part of the official electoral process.
The commission further asserted that its current result management architecture makes the kind of manipulation alleged “technically impossible.” This system involves real-time uploading of results from polling units and a transparent, multi-stage collation process verified by party agents.
The incident highlights the persistent challenge of misinformation surrounding election results in Nigeria. INEC’s clarification serves as a reminder that while isolated administrative errors can occur during the high-pressure circumstances of an election, its institutional safeguards are designed to ensure the final declared outcome reflects the actual votes cast and counted at each polling unit.
