Yoruba Youth Council Warns PDP, ADC Against Casting Doubt on INEC Voter Registration Figures

By Aisha Balogun


The Yoruba Youth Council (YYC), an umbrella organisation of Yoruba youths nationwide, has cautioned political actors against raising unnecessary alarm over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) pre-registration figures in Osun State.

In a statement at the weekend by its spokesman, Saheed Adeola, quoting YYC National President, Comrade Eric, the group described the claims by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as an attempt to discredit INEC ahead of elections.

According to INEC’s latest data, Osun State recorded 393,269 pre-registrations, the highest in the country. However, the PDP and ADC dismissed the figure as unrealistic and alleged manipulation.

Reacting, INEC, in a statement on Thursday by the chairman’s spokesman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, debunked the allegations and explained that the numbers were consistent with its 2021 online registration exercise.

The YYC said the alarm raised by the PDP and ADC was unnecessary, stressing that Osun’s voter registration pattern had been consistent over the years.

“In any case, in the 2022 governorship election in Osun State, PDP defeated the APC. It is therefore surprising that the PDP will now query the statistics,” the group said.

It pointed out that Osun had recorded 232,880 registrants in the 2021 exercise, adding that the 2025 figure of 393,289 was not out of place.

“Even at that, the Commission will still clean up the data and publish the register for claims and objections by citizens before the exercise is finalised,” the group explained.

YYC further criticised selective outrage, saying: “Interestingly, they are querying the figures for Osun and the South West in the latest exercise but not those of the FCT. Rather than raising unnecessary alarm that amounts to a storm in a teacup, the PDP and ADC should participate in mobilising our people to register in the Continuous Voter Registration instead of heating up the polity unnecessarily.”