• Says neutrality, integrity key to credible polls
• 10.7m new voters registered ahead of election
• INEC adopts ‘Zero-Failure’ logistics protocol
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has warned electoral officers against partisan conduct, negligence and ethical breaches ahead of the 2027 general election.
Amupitan said the conduct of field personnel would be critical to the credibility of the elections, stressing that the eyes of more than 200 million Nigerians and the international community would be on the electoral body.
He spoke yesterday in Lagos while declaring open the South-West Zonal Interactive Meeting and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 General Election, the first leg of INEC’s six-zone national tour to assess preparedness for the polls.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
The INEC chairman said the Commission decided to engage directly with Electoral Officers and other field personnel because the success or failure of elections was ultimately determined at the operational level.
According to him, electoral preparedness should not be measured by activities at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja alone, but by what happens at Local Government Areas, Registration Area Centres and polling units where officials interact directly with voters.
Addressing the officers, Amupitan said the responsibility before them was enormous.
“We must remain above suspicion, for the eyes of over 200 million Nigerians and indeed the world are fixed upon us,” he said.
He warned that partisan conduct, administrative negligence and compromised ethics would not be tolerated, stressing that protecting INEC’s institutional integrity was non-negotiable.
“Let me be unequivocally clear about the fact that partisan leaning, administrative negligence, or compromised ethics will not be tolerated.
“We will enforce our code of conduct, and every officer must understand that the protection of INEC’s institutional integrity is non-negotiable,” he said.
Amupitan reminded electoral officers that neutrality was not merely an administrative requirement but a statutory obligation under the Electoral Act.
He said officials must conduct elections without preference for any candidate or political party.
“When you take that oath, you are committing yourself to administer an election in which you have no preferred candidate and no preferred political party.
“The question should never be: ‘Who will benefit from this decision?’ The question should always be: ‘What does the law require me to do?’” he said.
The INEC chairman also cautioned officers against informal approaches to resolving electoral challenges where established procedures already exist.
He directed officials to follow the law and Commission guidelines and escalate operational difficulties through appropriate institutional channels.
Amupitan said neither electoral laws nor technology alone could guarantee credible elections without officials committed to faithfully implementing the rules.
“A beautifully drafted Electoral Act cannot by itself guarantee a credible election. A sophisticated electoral technology cannot by itself guarantee integrity,” he said.
He therefore urged staff to know the law, understand their responsibilities, remain neutral and document their actions, warning that administrative decisions could subsequently face public scrutiny and judicial review.
10.7m new voters registered
Amupitan disclosed that 10,772,421 new voters had been registered during the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), subject to completion of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) verification.
He said the exercise was part of efforts to ensure that eligible Nigerians were able to participate in the 2027 elections without unnecessary administrative barriers.
The chairman also disclosed that INEC had introduced printable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), in line with Section 18(1) of the Electoral Act, during the recent Osun State governorship election.
“Our goal is simple: no Nigerian who is eligible to vote should be disenfranchised by logistics. Every eligible citizen who registers must get their Card without friction,” he said.
He added that the Commission would review its voter registration processes and address bottlenecks affecting PVC distribution at the local government level.
INEC strengthens result management
On election technology, Amupitan said INEC was refining its Result Management Systems to make the movement of results from polling units to the national collation centre more visible, verifiable and capable of validation.
He said the recently introduced eEC8A was designed to strengthen the verification process.
The chairman also identified logistics as one of the perennial challenges facing election administration and said the Commission was working to strengthen the delivery chain ahead of the nationwide poll.
He said the measures would cover the movement and early deployment of sensitive materials, security coordination, vendor management and training of ad hoc personnel.
“We are applying a ‘Zero-Failure’ protocol. We are also working on ICT basic lesson tools to supplement our face-to-face training of Ad-Hoc Staff,” he said.
Amupitan urged Resident Electoral Commissioners and Electoral Officers in the South-West to give frank assessments of operational challenges in their respective states instead of concealing problems that could undermine preparations.
He said the recent Osun governorship election demonstrated what INEC could achieve when operational discipline, technical competence and administrative integrity worked together.
However, he warned against complacency, noting that the 2027 nationwide elections would present a much greater logistical and administrative challenge.
“If Osun showed Nigerians what we can do, 2027 must prove to the world that excellence is our permanent culture, not an occasional coincidence,” he said.
“The success of the 2027 election will not be judged by the quantity of votes cast, but by the quality of the process.
“I demand from you nothing less than absolute neutrality and professional excellence.”
South-West must close readiness gaps
The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Lagos State, Prof. Ayobami Salami, in his welcome address, urged states in the zone to critically assess their preparedness and identify gaps that could affect the 2027 elections.
Salami said electoral credibility was not created on Election Day, but built through early preparation, competent personnel, effective coordination and timely resolution of operational challenges.
He said the South-West’s diverse electoral environment required a readiness assessment that went beyond routine checklists.
“Our readiness assessment must therefore go beyond checklists. It must examine whether our systems will work effectively when subjected to stressors and realities of Election Day,” he said.
According to him, the assessment should cover human resources, logistics and infrastructure, technology and electoral materials, security arrangements, as well as engagement with political parties, civil society organisations, the media and voters.
The Lagos engagement marks the first leg of INEC’s six-zone national readiness tour as the Commission intensifies preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan stressed that the credibility of the polls would depend not only on INEC’s technology and administrative structures, but also on the officials responsible for translating electoral laws into practice.
“Conducting seamless elections in a nation as vast and vibrant as Nigeria remains a herculean task, but it is a task we are uniquely prepared for.
“Let us go forth with courage, guided by law, powered by technology and sustained by our love for Nigeria. The road to 2027 begins here, and we shall not falter,” he said.
