*Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, Chairman, the Independent National Electoral Commission, in Nigeria, restates the electoral body’s ‘total commitment to neutrality, operational excellence, and the sacred integrity of the ballot box’, as INEC begins its 100-day countdown to the 2027 General Elections
Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect
As the West African country begins the final 100-day countdown to the 2027 General Elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reassured Nigerians and the international world of its total commitment to neutrality, operational excellence, and the sanctity of the ballot box.
ConsumerConnect reports Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, Chairman of INEC, gave the assurance Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at the World Press Conference and National Stakeholders’ Meeting marking 100 days to the first ballot.
The event held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, in Abuja, FCT.
Amupitan said the electoral body had “moved decisively from planning into execution.”
INEC recommits to excellence, neutrality and sacred integrity of polls
Amupitan also noted that the Commission’s materials were in production, its requisite technology was undergoing rigorous quality assurance, its register was finalised for public display, while its workforce was being systematically trained across the country.
The Chairman of INEC also stated: “As we begin this 100-day sprint to the 2027 General Elections, we reassure the nation and the international community of our total commitment to neutrality, operational excellence, and the sacred integrity of the ballot box.”
He, therefore, described the 100-day milestone as “not just a countdown” but “a call to action,” which marks the beginning of the final phase of preparations to ensure that the election serves as a global benchmark for transparency, integrity and peace.
Some off-cycle elections as testing ground for upgrades
The INEC Chairman recalled that since he assumed leadership of the Commission October 23, 2025, the Commission had conducted major off-cycle elections, including the Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States’ Governorship Elections and the FCT Area Council Polls, alongside several Federal and state bye-elections.
According to him, reports submitted by local and international observers showed that every one of the polls passed the benchmark of electoral integrity.
The INEC Chief as well emphasised that the elections served as a testing ground for key structural upgrades.
These, he noted, include early deployment of ad hoc staff and sensitive materials, agile logistics and intelligence-led security arrangements.
Amupitan said the Commission issued the Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Elections February 26, 2026, setting out 14 statutory milestones, of which nine had been executed.
The timetable has been translated into an operational plan synchronised across the Commission’s 23 Headquarters Departments and Directorates, 36 State Offices, the FCT and all 774 Local Government Area offices, said he.
On funding INEC operations
In regard to funding, the INEC Chairman acknowledged the timely release of statutory allocations by the Federal Government, which he said had enabled the Commission to meet international vendor obligations, finance the production of critical election technology and upgrade infrastructure.
He, however, called for the prompt release of the remaining funds to ensure seamless execution of outstanding activities.
Updates on national voter register
As regards the voter register, Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise registered a total of 10,772,421 new voters, bringing the National Register of Voters to 103 million.
According to him, the register will be displayed for public scrutiny from 9th to 15th October 2026, while distribution of Phase 1 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to Local Government centres will begin Friday, 9th October this year.
Besides, Eighteen of the 22 registered political parties submitted 36 presidential and vice-presidential candidates, while the Final List of Candidates for the National Assembly was published 12th September 2026.
The final list for governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates will be published 10th October 2026.
Concerning procurement in the Commission, Prof. Amupitan said production was advanced for 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices.
He revealed that some of the BVAS had been delivered, while procurement for the printing of ballot papers and result sheets was nearly completed.
The Commission, he noted, has renewed its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to mobilise over 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats for the movement of personnel and materials.
According to him, sensitive materials will move from the Central Bank of Nigeria vaults to the Local Government Areas (LGAs) 72 hours before the polls, reaching all 8,838 Registration Area Centres by 4:00p.m. on the eve of the election, to ensure that polling units open at 7:30a.m. nationwide.
Stress test for tech tools
Speaking on technology, the Chairman said a six-day stress-testing exercise of all configured BVAS devices had been scheduled for 23rd to 28th October, 2026, while a nationwide mock accreditation exercise will be held November.
He also disclosed that the Commission had established an Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department, operating under mandatory human oversight.
In terms of security readiness, he said the Commission, working through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), would initiate joint training for thousands of Electoral Security Personnel.
According to him, joint monitoring and undercover surveillance teams would be deployed with the EFCC, ICPC, and NFIU to track vote-buying.
The Chairman warned that violators would face immediate arrest and prosecution under the Electoral Act 2026.
Amupitan said the Commission would require 707,384 ad hoc personnel for each of the two election days, 16th January and 6th February 2027, making a total of 1,414,768 engagements across 176,846 polling units.
Recruitment through the INEC Portal for Recruitment of Election Staff (INECPRES) opened on 18th September and will close at midnight on 18th November 2026.
Warning of the dangers of disinformation, he said Generative AI, voice cloning and deepfake videos had made it cheap to fabricate the voices of election officials and doctored result sheets.
He urged the media to establish fact-checking desks, verify with INEC before publication and resist the declaration of privately collated results.
The Chairman of INEC averred: “In national elections, it is far more important to be right than to be first.”
He also announced that the Commission’s Media Accreditation Portal would go live before the end of October 2026, urging media organisations planning to cover the election to apply early.
Goodwill messages from stakeholders at the event pledged support for the Commission. Representing the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Alyonu Francis Idu, said the Police were carrying out clearance operations in Kogi, Niger, Benue and Taraba States to stabilise crisis points ahead of the election.
AIG Idu said the geography of the security crisis had “created pockets of fear here and there,” and that the police were working “to ensure that within time, we’ll be able to police the various crisis points and ensure there is social harmony for the election.”
He said the force would review its pre-election work in November and report to Nigerians by the end of December.
“We must use legitimate authority, not power, to regulate the conduct of the election.”
The INEC Chief as well expressed hope that the vote would be “an election that citizens would celebrate with freedom that is attained through their democratic rights.”
In his remarks, Dr. Yusuf Dantalle, Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), congratulated INEC on the just-concluded Osun governorship election, saying it was “well applauded” and “what Nigerians expect to see in the general elections.”
Dr. Dantalle warned INEC officials against taking sides with any party or candidate.
He also stated: “Nigeria belong to all of us. Today you are in INEC, tomorrow you’ll also be out.”
He pledged political parties’ support for the Commission “to ensure that INEC succeed and Nigeria succeed.”
Turning to security agencies, he reminded them of their oath to protect the Constitution.
Said he: “Today you are in uniform, tomorrow you won’t be
“History will remember you for whatever role you play.”
He also appealed to the media to verify information before publishing, noting that “there are so many information in the public space that is not true.”
“This election will come and go, but Nigeria will remain,” he said. He urged INEC to “engage more before election with the political parties.”
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Sen. Simon Lalong, reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to strengthening the country’s electoral framework.
He said credibility of elections was a shared responsibility of political parties, security agencies, the media, civil society and voters.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Adebayo Balogun, urged INEC to ensure swift enforcement of constitutional and electoral provisions to prevent avoidable litigation.
The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Amb. Gautier Mingot, described INEC’s task as “Herculean” and called on all actors to facilitate the Commission’s work, not least from a budgetary point of view.
He said the EU would deploy an expert electoral mission to follow the run-up to the election, the conduct of the polls and their aftermath.
Delivering the vote of thanks, the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Rose Oriaran-Anthony, said the Commission had heard the stakeholders’ contributions and would “go back to work immediately to translate your recommendations into operational plans and frameworks.”
Mrs. Oriaran-Anthony said the engagement was “a recommitment to the Nigerian project.”
She also assured that the 2027 General Elections “will be owned by you, by all Nigerians, not just conducted by the Commission.”