The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from V-C Ottaokpukpu & Associates, a law firm, for a certified true copy of Nigeria’s entire National Register of Voters and a detailed list of all polling units nationwide.
However, the commission has demanded an exorbitant fee of ₦1,505,901,750 (One Billion, Five Hundred and Five Million, Nine Hundred and One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty Naira) as the “cost of production” before releasing the documents.
The law firm’s FOIA request, dated October 8, 2025, invoked citizens’ rights to access public information held by government bodies. INEC’s letter dated October 13, signed by Secretary Rose Oriaran-Anthony, acknowledged and approved the request under Section 15 of the Electoral Act 2022 but emphasized the hefty fee required for physical printing and certification of the documents.
Therefore, payment is to be made via INEC’s Remita Retrieval Reference platform. The demand for such a staggering fee contradicts the FOIA’s intention, which limits fees to reasonable duplication and processing costs, and has drawn widespread public criticism.
Furthermore, observers contend that the fee disproportionately exceeds past practices, noting INEC previously charged only a few hundred thousand naira for state-level voter registers. Critics also question the necessity of a costly physical certified copy in an age of digital records, warning it might facilitate fraud or lack transparency.
Currently, INEC’s Continuous Voter Registration exercise is ongoing, with over 6 million online pre-registrations since August 2025. While individuals can verify their voter registration status online, full access to Nigeria’s aggregated voters’ database remains tightly controlled, making the release of such comprehensive data controversial and highly sought after. This development highlights ongoing tensions between government transparency demands and administrative costs linked to public access of critical electoral data.
