The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced new technical safeguards that will prevent inaccurate election results and figures reflecting over voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Thursday during a high level dialogue at Chatham House, London, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) on the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”
Amupitan said the safeguards were introduced following a post election assessment of the 2023 general elections, which exposed weaknesses in the country’s result management and collation processes.
Acknowledging that the controversies surrounding the 2023 presidential election significantly eroded public confidence in the Commission, he said INEC had since used subsequent off-cycle elections to identify operational shortcomings and improve its electoral processes.
“First and foremost, let me speak about what happened in 2023, which resulted in a significant trust deficit for INEC damage so large that the Commission has not yet fully recovered from it,” he said.
Explaining why Nigerians should trust his leadership ahead of the 2027 elections, Amupitan pointed to the conduct of governorship elections in Anambra and Osun states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, the Ekiti governorship election and 16 legislative by-elections.
He said the Commission recorded improvements in result declaration timelines, particularly in Anambra and Osun, where results were declared the day after voting following administrative reforms.
According to him, INEC’s assessment of the 2023 elections identified collation centres, rather than polling units, as the major source of result management problems.
“In 2023, there were instances of inaccurate results or results with over voting being uploaded onto IReV. 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,” he said.
He added that the new system would ensure that results uploaded to the portal had passed the Commission’s validation processes, making subsequent collation more transparent.
The INEC chairman also announced a series of upgrades to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), including the construction of climate controlled storage facilities across the states to address device malfunctions previously associated with extreme heat and storage conditions.
He said the Commission had procured additional BVAS devices and reduced the maximum number of registered voters assigned to each machine from 1,250 to 850.
Polling units with more than 850 registered voters will consequently be provided with multiple devices.
To assess the effectiveness of the upgrades, Amupitan announced that INEC would conduct a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise on November 28, 2026.
The exercise, he explained, would simulate the presidential election and test the Commission’s accreditation and electronic result transmission systems ahead of the 2027 polls.
On election financing, the INEC chairman disclosed that the Commission had received a substantial portion of its 2027 election budget but was still awaiting the release of the outstanding balance.
He said part of the pending funds was required for the recruitment and welfare of ad hoc election personnel.
According to him, the Commission had received assurances that the outstanding funds would be released before the end of November.
Amupitan identified insecurity, logistics and result management as INEC’s three major operational priorities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The chairman also dismissed allegations questioning his political neutrality following social media claims linking his phone number to a controversial account on X, formerly Twitter.
He categorically denied ever operating an X account, disclosing that an independent forensic review had been obtained and the matter referred to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.
He further dismissed concerns that his previous legal representation in political disputes could compromise his impartiality, maintaining that he had acted in his professional capacity as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria before his appointment as INEC chairman.
“My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act,” he said.
On allegations of irregularities in the voter register, including claims of an 85 per cent increase in registered voters in a ward in Ebonyi State, Amupitan said the Commission had investigated and resolved the complaint in accordance with statutory procedures.
He noted that the Electoral Act provides mechanisms for public claims, objections and requests for certified true copies of the voters’ register.
The INEC chairman also urged young Nigerians to remain actively involved in the democratic process while exercising caution against misinformation and disinformation, particularly on digital platforms.
“This country belongs to young Nigerians, and they must not relent in working for the Nigeria they desire,” he said, urging citizens to verify information before sharing it.
