The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians that it will remain neutral in the 2027 general elections, insisting that no political party or candidate will receive special treatment.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, gave the assurance on Friday in Abuja during a meeting with a pre-election fact-finding team from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The delegation was led by Victor Bockarie Foh, a former Vice-President of Sierra Leone.
Speaking during the meeting, Amupitan made it clear that the commission’s responsibility was to respect the law and protect the voting rights of Nigerians.
“INEC under my watch has no candidate and no political party,” he said.
“Our sole allegiance is to the rule of law, the sovereign will of the Nigerian electorate, and the democratic progress of our nation.”
Giving an update on preparations for the elections, Amupitan disclosed that INEC was carrying out an assessment tour across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones to determine its level of readiness.
He explained that voting would take place across 8,809 registration areas in the country’s 774 local government areas.
According to him, the number of registered voters in Nigeria has exceeded 103 million, while INEC has already completed nine out of the 14 major legal activities listed in its revised election timetable.
The commission has also completed three stages of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, alongside the nationwide physical display of the preliminary voter register.
On election technology, Amupitan confirmed that INEC would deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to verify voters through fingerprints and facial recognition.
He added that electronic systems would also be used to manage election results.
The chairman further disclosed that INEC had introduced a new electronic verification platform, eEC8A, to support its result management process and verification through the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Regarding security, Amupitan said the commission was working closely with relevant security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to provide adequate protection during the elections.
Meanwhile, the leader of the ECOWAS delegation, Victor Bockarie Foh, explained that the visit was part of the regional body’s efforts to examine how prepared member countries were ahead of their general elections.
He said the team, which included Serigne Mamadou Ka, head of the ECOWAS Electoral Assistance Division, would assess the readiness of those involved in the electoral process and identify areas where ECOWAS could provide assistance.
Foh added that the assessment was being carried out in accordance with Article 31 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and Article 53 of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework.
