The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced a two-day Strategic Communication Workshop for Heads of Department, Voter Education and Publicity (VEP), from its state offices nationwide, as part of preparations for the 2027 General Election.
The workshop, holding in Abuja from Wednesday, 19 August to Thursday, 20 August 2026, is designed to strengthen the capacity of state-level communication officers to engage effectively with voters, counter misinformation and disinformation, and build public confidence in the electoral process.
Declaring the workshop open, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said INEC faced several operational challenges, including funding constraints under the envelope budgeting system, a growing electorate and an expanding range of statutory responsibilities.
He said the recently suspended Nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise was expected to result in a voter register of more than 100 million people, highlighting the scale of the Commission’s preparations and the critical role of VEP officers in voter education and public communication.
Haruna said the workshop was organised to address identified capacity gaps among VEP heads nationwide, expressing confidence that the training would provide participants with the knowledge and practical tools needed to effectively deliver the Commission’s voter education and public information mandate.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines, the National Commissioner said the training was particularly timely as political parties begin campaigns ahead of the 2027 elections. He said VEP officers needed to develop effective communication strategies ahead of the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for 16 January 2027, with the Governorship and State Assembly elections to follow three weeks later.
On voter apathy, Haruna said low turnout should not be blamed solely on INEC, describing voter participation as a broader democratic challenge.
He cited the Commission’s recent off-cycle governorship elections, which he said had become increasingly credible and had received commendations from observers, civil society organisations and the media.
While acknowledging that voter education was a statutory responsibility of INEC, Haruna said political parties also had an important role in mobilising their supporters. He noted that weaknesses in internal party democracy, particularly candidate selection processes, could contribute to voter disengagement.
In her welcome remarks, Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, said the workshop was aimed at addressing a longstanding gap in professional communication training among VEP heads.
She said recent staff redeployments had further widened the gap, with some officers without formal communication backgrounds taking on responsibilities for media relations and public communication in politically sensitive environments.
According to her, the training would strengthen participants’ ability to manage misinformation, coordinate voter education programmes and communicate election-related information and results clearly and accurately.
Eta-Messi reaffirmed the Department’s commitment to ensuring that the Commission’s communication remained visible, accessible and accountable to citizens and stakeholders.
She also acknowledged the contributions of the workshop’s resource persons, Prof. Okey Ikechukwu and Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, whom she described as experienced communication professionals engaged to strengthen participants’ capacity as voter education practitioners.
The workshop features five thematic sessions covering strategic voter education and sustainable citizenship; legal literacy in the electoral process; INEC’s internal and external communication policy; identifying and countering deliberate misinformation; and the effective release of official information, including what information should be released, when, where, to whom and through which channels.
The workshop is attended by VEP heads from INEC’s state offices across the country and officials of the Commission’s Voter Education and Publicity Department.
