A new wave of controversy has erupted after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reportedly demanded a whopping ₦1.5 billion as production cost for releasing a certified true copy of Nigeria’s entire National Register of Voters and the list of all polling units across the country.
The figure was contained in an official response by the Commission to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request filed by V-C Ottaokpukpu & Associates, a law firm based in Abuja and led by public affairs analyst and legal practitioner, Vincent Otaokpukpu. The firm had, in a letter dated October 8, 2025, invoked the Freedom of Information Act 2011, requesting the documents under citizens’ constitutional right to access public records.
INEC’s reply, signed by its Secretary Rose Oriaran-Anthony and dated October 13, 2025, granted approval under Section 15 of the Electoral Act 2022. However, the Commission said the applicant must first pay ₦1,505,901,750 “to cover the cost of production” before the documents would be released. Payment, it added, should be made through INEC’s official Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR) platform at www.remita.net
, after which an electronic receipt must be submitted for processing.
In its letter, INEC insisted the amount reflected “the actual cost” of producing a certified true copy of the massive register, which contains data of over 93 million registered voters compiled ahead of the 2023 general elections. The Commission also stated that the request fell within its transparency and disclosure obligations under both the Electoral Act and the FOI law.
Public Outrage
The disclosure has triggered widespread public criticism, with many describing the ₦1.5 billion fee as excessive and a deliberate attempt to frustrate access to public information. Civil rights commentators and social media users have argued that the figure “grossly contradicts” the provisions of the FOI Act, which limit access fees to reasonable duplication and processing costs.
One analyst described INEC’s demand as “a mockery of transparency,” noting that previous requests for state-level voter registers cost only a fraction of the current amount. Another observer questioned the logic of producing a physical copy in an era of digital data, saying, “What exactly justifies ₦1.5 billion for printing documents that already exist in electronic form?”
The development comes at a sensitive time for the electoral body, which is currently conducting its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. According to INEC, more than six million Nigerians have initiated online pre-registration since August 2025.
The National Register of Voters remains one of Nigeria’s most important public databases, containing demographic and biometric details of all eligible voters. While individuals can verify their registration status through INEC’s portal, cvr.inecnigeria.org, full access to the compiled national register has never been publicly granted in bulk form.
As of Wednesday evening, neither INEC nor V-C Ottaokpukpu & Associates had issued additional comments on the ₦1.5 billion fee
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.
