The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will deploy about 1.4 million ad hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide for the 2027 General Election.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while receiving a Pre-Election Assessment Mission (PEAM) delegation of the International Republican Institute (IRI), led by former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Ambassador Dr. Jendayi Frazier.
Amupitan said the scale of the 2027 election would require the commission to significantly expand its administrative and logistical capacity as preparations move into full scale national operations.
The INEC chairman said the commission had been using recent off cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, as well as legislative by elections, as “live operational stress tests” for its technology, logistics and security coordination systems.
He said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the real time display of polling unit result sheets on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal had recorded upload rates of more than 98 per cent in recent off cycle elections.
“Technology has permanently closed the door on legacy voting vulnerabilities, ensuring that the ballot box alone determines electoral outcomes,” Amupitan said.
He added that the commission’s preparations for 2027 include continuous voter registration and an audit of the voters’ register using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to detect and eliminate duplicate records.
INEC is also expanding early deployment arrangements and strengthening partnerships with transport unions to improve logistics and ensure the timely opening of polling units.
According to Amupitan, the commission is further enhancing measures to improve access to polling units and provide specialised assistance for persons with disabilities, pregnant women, nursing mothers and elderly voters.
The chairman, however, identified security threats, electoral violence, vote buying, hate speech, disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) as major risks to the 2027 elections.
He said INEC was working with security agencies through the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to enforce electoral laws, monitor campaign finance violations and prosecute electoral offenders.
Amupitan also disclosed that the commission would later on Tuesday participate with presidential candidates in the National Peace Committee’s signing of the First National Peace Accord on Issue Based Campaigns.
The INEC chairman said the official statutory commencement of public campaigns and rallies for the 2027 General Election would take place on Wednesday, August 19.
He described the IRI mission, which is in Nigeria from August 11 to 21, as timely, given the transition from the recent off-cycle elections to preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan assured the delegation of INEC’s transparency and cooperation, saying international election observation missions were “invaluable institutional partners” whose assessments and recommendations could help the commission identify weaknesses and strengthen public confidence.
He reiterated that INEC remained politically neutral and had no preference for any party or candidate.
“Our sole mandate is to serve as an uncompromising, impartial umpire dedicated to delivering a free, fair, credible, transparent, and inclusive election that reflects the sovereign will of the Nigerian people,” he said.
