The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has defended the N1.5 billion it charged a law firm for copies of the national register of voters and polling unit data.
In a circulating letter, INEC had charged V-C Ottaokpukpu & Associates, a law firm, N1,505,901,750 to print copies of the national register of voters and polling units across the country.
Vincent Otaokpukpu, principal associate and chief counsel of the firm, wrote to the commission on 8 October 2025, requesting certified true copies of register of voters and all existing polling units in all electoral wards in Nigeria.
Otaokpukpu made the application under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011.
The secretary to the commission, Rose Oriaran-Anthony responded to the lawyer’s request.
In a statement on Thursday by the director of voter education and publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, INEC said the amount quoted was derived from the cost of reproducing over six million pages of documents at a unit rate of N250 per page, as stipulated by the commission’s approved guidelines.
‘INEC emphasises that the cost is determined strictly in line with the provisions of Section 8(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, which states that “Where access to information is to be given under this Act, the public institution may charge an amount representing the actual cost of document duplication and transcription”’.
The commission added that the national register of voters contains 93,469,008 registered voters, requiring 6,018,661 pages to reproduce at 16 voters per page.
INEC said printing the details of 176,848 polling units across the country would require 4,946 pages, bringing the total to over six million pages.
‘The total number of pages to be printed for both requests is therefore 6,023,607, at a unit cost of 250 Naira per page, resulting in the total sum of 1,505,901,750 Naira’, the statement reads.
INEC said the figure does not include any hidden or administrative charges beyond the cost of duplication and transcription.
‘The Commission wishes to assure the public that this figure reflects only the actual costs of document duplication and transcription and does not include any other charges. INEC remains committed to transparency, accountability, and the responsible management of public resources’, the statement reads.
