A new report has identified discrepancies in voter data, tabulation errors, and cases of overvoting during the 2025 Anambra State governorship election, raising concerns about procedural lapses in Nigeria’s electoral process.
The report, titled “Key Lessons from the 2025 Anambra Governorship Election,” was presented in Abuja by the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), a civil society group focused on election accountability and transparency.
Irregularities Identified
According to KDI’s Executive Director, Bukola Idowu, the election recorded mismatched figures for registered voters, arithmetic errors in vote tabulation, missing ballots, and instances of overvoting across several polling units.
He said discrepancies in the number of registered voters were observed in 412 polling units, noting that figures recorded on Form EC8A did not match the official pre-election data released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to the report, INEC initially announced 2,802,790 registered voters, while the commission’s IReV portal showed 2,734,344, and a separate figure of 2,788,864 was later announced at the collation centre.
KDI also identified arithmetic errors in vote tabulation in 635 polling units, 13,428 missing ballots, and overvoting in 443 polling units.
Mr Idowu said overvoting affected 53,666 valid votes, including 37,294 votes for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and 9,160 votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) after cancellations were applied.
Despite these findings, he said the irregularities did not alter the final outcome of the election.
“It did not affect the election because the margin of lead was over 300,000 votes,” he said, adding that the findings remain important for strengthening electoral procedures.
Election Outcome
The governorship election was held on 8 November 2025, with incumbent governor Charles Soludo of APGA re-elected.
He polled 422,664 votes, defeating the APC candidate Nicholas Ukachukwu, who secured 99,445 votes.
Concerns Over Vote Buying
The report also noted subtle forms of vote inducement in some polling units. In certain cases, voters were reportedly asked to write down their bank details in notebooks circulated among groups at polling stations.
According to KDI, the notebooks contained names, phone numbers, and bank account details, raising concerns about evolving methods of vote buying.
However, the organisation commended INEC for the timely uploading of results to the IReV portal, noting that 5,711 polling unit results were uploaded by midnight, an improvement compared with the 2024 Ondo State governorship election.
Election Security
KDI recorded 31 incidents of electoral violence between January and early November 2025.
The group said it deployed 70 election monitors across Anambra’s local government areas and neighbouring states during the election period.
The report said two fatalities were recorded in pre-election violence, which it attributed largely to criminal activities rather than political rivalry.
On election day, 35 incidents of violence were documented, with Oyi and Njikoka local government areas recording the highest number of cases.Victims included officials of the electoral commission, ad-hoc staff, party agents, and community leaders.
According to Mr Idowu, the deployment of over 40,000 security personnel helped limit the spread of election-related violence.
Campaign Spending Exceeds Legal Limit
The report also examined campaign financing, estimating that more than ₦19.6 billion was spent by political parties and candidates during the election cycle.
KDI said it deployed 50 community-based monitors between June and November 2025 to track campaign spending.
The findings suggest that ₦8 billion was spent on campaign activities, while over ₦10.9 billion was spent on election day alone.
Total spending tracked included:
₦3.4 billion by APGA and Governor Soludo
₦2.3 billion by the Labour Party candidate George Moghalu
₦1.9 billion by APC candidate Nicholas Ukachukwu
The report noted that these figures exceed the ₦1 billion campaign spending limit set by Nigeria’s Electoral Act 2022.
KDI also found that 42% of total election spending came from third-party actors, including private supporters and political allies.
Calls for Electoral Reforms
Responding to the findings, Queen-Elizabeth Agwu, the Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, called for greater collaboration among institutions and citizens to address electoral irregularities.
She urged voters to report incidents of malpractice, noting that many members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) are increasingly reluctant to serve as ad-hoc election staff due to security concerns.
Meanwhile, Boissie Henry, chairperson of the Africa Electoral Justice Network, stressed the need for stronger institutional cooperation in managing elections.
“Elections are not merely political and administrative events but a constitutional test,” he said.
Observers at the summit said the report’s findings could help shape reforms ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
