2027: INEC Must Be Physically, Psychologically, Materially Ready for Elections — Amupitan

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has commenced a zonal readiness assessment of the Commission’s operations in the Southwest as part of efforts to ensure adequate administrative, human, material and infrastructural preparedness for the 2027 General Election.

Amupitan, who spoke during an engagement with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), Electoral Officers and other INEC officials in the zone, said the exercise was the beginning of a series of zonal engagements aimed at enabling the Commission’s leadership to assess its preparedness ahead of the elections.

He said INEC’s attention had now shifted fully to the 2027 General Election, with the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, followed by the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.

The INEC chairman explained that the Commission opted for a zonal assessment rather than its traditional state-by-state engagements because of the limited time remaining before the elections.

According to him, the exercise would enable the leadership to interact directly with officials at the state and local government levels who are responsible for implementing the Commission’s policies and decisions.

“It is very critical for me to go and see for myself and be sure that we are physically, psychologically, materially and infrastructurally ready for the 2027 General Election,” Amupitan said.

He stressed the importance of INEC’s administrative structure to the successful conduct of credible elections, describing Electoral Officers and other officials at the local government level as the Commission’s “foot soldiers.”

The chairman said these officials were responsible for translating policies and decisions taken at the national level into concrete actions at the grassroots.

He explained that Electoral Officers operate under the supervision of RECs, who are directly responsible to the Commission, stressing that every level of the administrative chain was crucial to effective election management.

“Their role has always not been emphasised before now. But we know that if the chain is broken, then the election will run into crisis,” he said.

Amupitan said the readiness assessment was designed to examine all components of election preparation and identify potential gaps that needed to be addressed before the polls.

He added that the Commission was also engaging its officials and partners to clarify responsibilities and improve coordination, particularly in administration, personnel management and the implementation of Commission decisions.

The INEC chairman assured stakeholders that the Commission would continue to address election preparations systematically to minimise operational gaps and deliver a seamless electoral process in 2027.

“We want to address every chain, every aspect of the election, and ensure that we have a seamless general election in 2027,” he said.