INEC chairman urges neutrality as commission prepares for 2027 elections
Independent National Electoral Commission chairman Joash Amupitan has directed officials to close operational gaps, maintain political neutrality and improve logistics ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections. Speaking in Kaduna, he said the commission would address voter-card distribution, technology, personnel training and field-level challenges identified across the North-west.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has begun a North-west readiness assessment for Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, with chairman Joash Amupitan directing officials to strengthen neutrality and resolve operational weaknesses before polling day. Amupitan spoke in Kaduna on Monday at a zonal interactive meeting with staff. The event forms part of a six-zone national tour intended to assess preparations, identify field challenges and develop responses ahead of the elections.
He said the credibility of an election depended heavily on work carried out at local government areas, registration centres and polling units. Officials were asked to present practical difficulties affecting election administration and work with the commission’s headquarters on solutions. Amupitan warned staff against partisan conduct and administrative negligence, saying the professionalism of field personnel would be central to public confidence.
He said the commission was applying lessons from recent elections while preparing for the larger national exercise in 2027. The chairman said three phases of Continuous Voter Registration had produced 10,772,421 new registrations, subject to verification through the Automated Biometric Identification System. He called for the removal of bottlenecks affecting the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards so that eligible citizens would not be excluded for logistical reasons.
INEC is also refining voter-verification and result-transmission systems, including its Result Management Systems and the recently introduced eEC8A, according to Amupitan. He said a “Zero-Failure” logistics approach would cover early deployment of materials, movement, security coordination and training of ad-hoc staff. The commission said newly issued PVC collection would begin on October 9.
Supervising National Commissioner Kudu Haruna said traditional institutions could assist by encouraging eligible citizens to collect their cards. State representatives subsequently presented reports on preparedness and operational challenges across the North-west.
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