By CHARLES IWUOHA

The opposition Action Peoples Party (APP) has lodged a formal protest with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over what it calls deliberately inflated figures in the 2026 Preliminary Register of Voters Register for the Ugirike/Okwu/Eziama Registration Area (16-08-10), in Ikeduru Local government Area of Imo State.

The party alleged that one ward holds 17% of Ikeduru’s voters on 9% of its polling units, demanding for a forensic audit before the register is certified on 15 December,2026.

The petition, addressed to the INEC National Chairman in Abuja and received by his office on 11 November 2026, was filed on behalf of the party and its candidate for Imo East Senatorial District, Dr. Chima Amadi.

This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the party’s National Chairman, Barrister Uchenna Nnadi, and National Secretary, Abu lbrahim Bossan.

Drawing only on INEC’s preliminary register for the nine LGAs of Owerri Zone, the party points to: 17% of voters on 9% of units. The ward has 21 of Ikeduru’s 227 polling units but 23,984 of its 141,427 registered voters.

Double the average; Its polling units average 1,142 voters, against 570 across Ikeduru’s other 206 units. Bigger than the state capital. Eke Amaehi Village Square (16-08-10-021) records 3,117 voters, the highest of all 2,005 polling units in Owerri Zone. That is 932 more than the largest unit in Owerri Municipal (Urban Secondary School, 2,185).

“Bigger than larger wards .The ward has more voters than Uzoagba (16,014 across 30 units), Ikeduru’s next-largest ward, and more than five times Amatta (4,551).

“Concentrated in Eziama. In the same ward, the ten Ugirike and Okwu units average 601 voters, in line with the rest of the LGA. The six Eziama units average 1,640, and three further units (019–021) hold 6,901 between them. Eight of Ikeduru’s ten largest polling units sit in this one ward.Neighbouring communities in a single ward do not differ by a factor of nearly three through honest registration,” the party said.

The APP noted that INEC itself acknowledged on 27 October 2026 that irregularities, including suspected AI-generated photographs, were found during public display of the preliminary register.

The APP’s demanded a forensic audit of every record in the registration area, starting with units 16-08-10-011 to 016 and 019 to 021, completed before the Final Register was certified on 15 December 2026.

“Full biometric de-duplication (fingerprint and facial) against the national register, and verification of each registrant’s eligibility and residence. Disclosure, for those nine units, of how many registrations were added in each phase of Continuous Voter Registration, when, and by which devices and officers.

“Removal of every invalid record, with affected entries withheld from the certified register until the audit is complete. Disciplinary action and prosecution for anyone found to have helped inflate the register. Access for APP representatives to observe the audit, and a written response within 14 days.

“A padded register in one ward is a fraud on every genuine voter in the senatorial district, whatever party they support,” the party said. “The people of Imo East will not accept an election conducted on figures that cannot withstand scrutiny.”

The APP said It reserves the right to pursue every remedy available under the Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026, if the objection is not resolved before certification.