{"id":6378,"date":"2026-11-12T21:55:04","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T21:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=6378"},"modified":"2026-11-12T21:56:24","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T21:56:24","slug":"inec-rules-out-inaccurate-irev-uploads-in-2027-elections-sets-november-28-for-mock-accreditation-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=6378","title":{"rendered":"INEC rules out inaccurate IReV uploads in 2027 elections, sets November 28 for mock accreditation, votes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>*<strong><em>Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, Chairman of Nigeria&#8217;s Independent National Electoral Commission, at the Chatham House, London, affirms off-cycle poll reforms, BVAS upgrades as proof of institutional readiness for 2027 General Elections <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n<p>Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has urged Nigerians to trust his leadership to deliver free, fair, and credible General Elections in 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Amupitan noted measurable operational improvements recorded in recent off-cycle polls and new technical safeguards designed to prevent a repeat of the 2023 election controversies.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"OOIukub5z6\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=6301\">Fuel Hikes: Nigeria monitoring local PMS pump prices amid falling crude price &#8211;FCCPC<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cFuel Hikes: Nigeria monitoring local PMS pump prices amid falling crude price \u2013FCCPC\u201d \u2014 Consumer Experience Is A Top Priority\" src=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=6301&amp;embed=true#?secret=xMC4GajOAj#?secret=OOIukub5z6\" data-secret=\"OOIukub5z6\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Prof. Amupitan stated this while speaking Thursday, November 12, 2026, at Chatham House, in London, United Kingdom (UK).<\/p>\n<p>The forum was a high-level dialogue convened in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) with the theme: &#8220;Nigeria\u2019s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing the trust deficit left by the 2023 Presidential Election, the INEC Chairman acknowledged that the controversies surrounding that exercise severely dented public confidence in the electoral body\u2014damage from which the Commission is still working to recover.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary\/ Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, in a statement issued Thursday, in London, noted Prof. Amupitan also said: &#8220;First and foremost, let me speak about what happened in 2023, which resulted in a significant trust deficit for INEC\u2014damage so large that the Commission has not yet fully recovered from it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The statement noted Prof. Amupitan, who assumed office in October 2025, however, noted that the Commission had treated every subsequent election as a practical laboratory to identify operational weaknesses and strengthen accreditation, voting, and result management.<\/p>\n<p>Responding to a question on why Nigerians should trust his leadership ahead of 2027, he cited the successful conduct of the Anambra and Osun governorship elections, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council polls, the Ekiti governorship election, and 16 legislative by-elections.<\/p>\n<p>He also stated: &#8220;Why must Nigerians trust me? Nigerians must trust me because, number one, I have conducted off-cycle elections\u2014and observers agree that the recent election in Osun State marked a clear improvement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Every election is a lesson. The 2023 general election was a major lesson for Nigeria, and the Anambra election was another.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Chairman of INEC further explained that Anambra and Osun previously had histories of prolonged, inconclusive governorship contests.<\/p>\n<p>He equally recalled that the 2021 Anambra governorship poll took roughly five days to conclude, whereas targeted administrative reforms under his watch enabled results in both states to be declared the day after voting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On new safeguards on IReV and collation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Highlighting insecurity, logistics and result management as INEC&#8217;s three top priorities for 2027, Prof. Amupitan revealed that the Commission&#8217;s post-2023 audit traced the most acute result management failures to collation centres rather than polling units.<\/p>\n<p>To eliminate discrepancies between polling unit figures and collation sheets, he announced that INEC has built strict validation safeguards into its system so that inaccurate results or figures reflecting over-voting cannot be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).<\/p>\n<p>He also said: &#8220;We found that the core problem of election result management and declaration in Nigeria is not even at the polling unit\u2014it is at the collation centres.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In 2023, there were instances of inaccurate results or results with over-voting being uploaded onto IReV.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Amupitan averred: &#8220;We have now devised a technical safeguard: if a result is not accurate at the polling unit, it will not go to IReV at all.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The moment a result appears on IReV, citizens can trust what they see. &#8220;By eliminating inconsistencies at the source, collation will become a transparent formality.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The INEC Chief disclosed that while INEC considered introducing an entirely new electoral technology for 2027, it opted instead to upgrade and harden its existing infrastructure due to the tight operational timeline before the polls.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing malfunctions of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) linked to extreme heat and storage conditions in 2023, he announced that INEC is constructing climate-controlled storage facilities across all states of the Federation. Additionally, the Commission has procured extra devices and reduced the maximum number of voters assigned per BVAS machine from 1,250 to 850, ensuring polling units exceeding 850 registered voters are deployed with multiple devices, he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>INEC to conduct mock accreditation, voting exercise nationwide <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In testing these upgrades ahead of the polls, Prof. Amupitan announced a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise scheduled for November 28, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>He further explained: &#8220;On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise across all states of the Federation to simulate the Presidential Election and verify that we have got both accreditation and electronic result transmission right.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Election financing <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On election financing, the Chairman confirmed that while INEC has received a substantial portion of its 2027 election budget.<\/p>\n<p>He disclosed the Commission, however, awaits the release of the outstanding balance\u2014part of which is earmarked for the recruitment and welfare of ad hoc personnel.<\/p>\n<p>INEC has received assurances that the funds will be released before the end of November, he noted.<\/p>\n<p>In regard to questions on his neutrality, following social media allegations linking his phone number to a controversial X (formerly Twitter) account, Prof. Amupitan categorically denied ever operating an X account.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that an independent forensic review had been obtained and the matter formally referred to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The Chairman of INEC also dismissed suggestions that his past legal representation in political disputes would compromise his impartiality.<\/p>\n<p>Amupitan clarified that he acted strictly, within his professional duties as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) prior to his current appointment.<\/p>\n<p>He averred: &#8220;My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Every constitutional institution\u2014including the Presidency, the National Assembly, and state governors\u2014owes its primary loyalty to the Constitution and the rule of law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cleaning the voter register ahead 2027<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On concerns regarding alleged voter register anomalies, including claims of an 85 percent surge in registrants in a ward in Ebonyi State, Prof. Amupitan stated that the Commission had already investigated and resolved the complaint in line with statutory procedures.<\/p>\n<p>He said the Electoral Act provides clear windows for public claims, objections, and requests for Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the register.<\/p>\n<p>Prof. Amupitan as well urged Nigerian youths to stay actively involved in the democratic process and guard against digital disinformation.<\/p>\n<p>Amupitan declared: &#8220;This country belongs to young Nigerians, and they must not relent in working for the Nigeria they desire.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Misinformation remains one of the greatest threats to our democracy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Citizens must verify information before acting or sharing, and give our democracy the chance to succeed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Commission restated that the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly (NASS) elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will be held February 6, 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, Chairman of Nigeria&#8217;s Independent National Electoral Commission, at the Chatham House, London, affirms off-cycle poll reforms, BVAS upgrades as proof of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (far right), at Chatham House, in London, UK           Photo: INEC Headquarters 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