*Photo: INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN (4th right) and others during a courtsy visit by the International Republican Institute to the Commission’s Headquarters on Tuesday*
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will deploy approximately 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide for the 2027 General Election.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when he received a Pre-Election Assessment Mission (PEAM) delegation of the International Republican Institute (IRI), led by former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Ambassador Dr. Jendayi Frazier.
Amupitan said the IRI delegation’s visit, scheduled for August 11 to 21, was coming at a critical period, following the successful conduct of the Osun State governorship election on August 15 and the commencement of statutory campaigns for the 2027 general elections on August 19.
He described the mission as timely and strategic, saying it would provide an independent assessment of Nigeria’s electoral environment as INEC moves into full-scale preparations for the 2027 polls.
According to him, recent off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, as well as legislative by-elections, had served as operational tests for the Commission’s technological systems, logistics and security coordination mechanisms.
The INEC chairman said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the real-time uploading of polling unit results through the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal had continued to perform reliably, with recent off-cycle elections recording result-upload rates above 98 per cent.
“Technology has permanently closed the door on legacy voting vulnerabilities, ensuring that the ballot box alone determines electoral outcomes,” Amupitan said.
He added that the Commission was strengthening its administrative and operational capacity ahead of what he described as an unprecedented logistical undertaking in 2027.
Amupitan listed continuous voter registration and voter-register auditing, logistics optimisation and improved accessibility for vulnerable groups among the Commission’s key priorities.
He said INEC would deploy the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to detect and eliminate duplicate voter records and maintain a clean and verified voters’ register.
On logistics, he said the Commission was expanding its early-deployment framework and strengthening partnerships with transport unions to facilitate the timely opening of polling units by 8:30 a.m.
He also said INEC was enhancing access to polling units and providing specialised assistive devices for persons with disabilities, pregnant women, nursing mothers and elderly voters.
The INEC chairman, however, acknowledged that security threats, electoral violence, vote-buying, hate speech, disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) remained major challenges to Nigeria’s electoral process.
He said the Commission was working with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), as well as anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to enforce electoral laws and address campaign finance violations and electoral offences.
Amupitan also disclosed that INEC would participate alongside presidential candidates in the National Peace Committee’s signing of the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns later on Tuesday.
He assured the IRI delegation of the Commission’s full cooperation, stressing that INEC regarded international election observation missions as institutional partners rather than critics.
He said their assessments, risk analyses and recommendations were valuable in helping the Commission identify weaknesses, improve its strategies and strengthen public confidence in elections.
Amupitan reiterated INEC’s neutrality, saying the Commission had no preference for any political party or candidate.
“Our sole mandate is to serve as an uncompromising, impartial umpire dedicated to delivering a free, fair, credible, transparent, and inclusive election that reflects the sovereign will of the Nigerian people,” he said.
The IRI Pre-Election Assessment Mission is expected to engage with relevant stakeholders and assess Nigeria’s electoral environment ahead of the 2027 General Election.