The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it plans to deploy approximately 1.4 million ad-hoc staff across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide for the 2027 general elections.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while receiving a Pre-Election Assessment Mission (PEAM) delegation of the International Republican Institute (IRI) at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Amupitan said the IRI delegation’s visit, scheduled for August 11 to 21, came at a critical point in Nigeria’s electoral calendar, coming days after the August 15th Osun State Governorship Election and on the eve of the statutory commencement of campaigns for the 2027 general elections.
The INEC chairman stated that the commission had used recent off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, as well as legislative by-elections across the country, as operational tests for its technology, logistics and security coordination systems ahead of the 2027 polls.
According to him, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal have continued to demonstrate high operational reliability, with the upload of polling-unit result sheets, achieving rates of above 98 per cent in recent off-cycle elections.
He noted that the deployment of technology had helped address some of the vulnerabilities associated with Nigeria’s previous electoral processes.
“Technology has permanently closed the door on legacy voting vulnerabilities, ensuring that the ballot box alone determines electoral outcomes,” Amupitan said.
He added that INEC was scaling up its administrative capacity ahead of what he described as “an unprecedented logistical operation in 2027”.
The commission, he noted, was implementing a roadmap covering Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), voter-register auditing, logistics optimisation and electoral inclusivity.
On voter registration, Amupitan said the commission was using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to identify and eliminate duplicate records and maintain a clean and verified voters’ register.
He added that INEC was expanding its early-deployment arrangements and strengthening partnerships with transport unions to facilitate the timely opening of polling units by at least 8:30 a.m. on election days.
The commission, he said, was also enhancing access to polling units and providing specialised devices to asisst persons with disabilities, pregnant women, nursing mothers and elderly voters.
Amupitan, however, acknowledged the security and integrity challenges facing Nigeria’s electoral process, including electoral violence, vote-buying, hate speech, disinformation, foreign information manipulation and interference.
He assured that 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 the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to enforce electoral laws, monitor campaign finance violations and prosecute electoral offenders.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission would participate alongside presidential candidates in the National Peace Committee’s signing of the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns.
He said the initiative was aimed at promoting political civility ahead of the 2027 elections.
Amupitan described international election observation missions as institutional partners rather than critics, saying their assessments and recommendations could help INEC identify weaknesses, improve its operational strategies and strengthen public confidence in the electoral process.
He assured the IRI delegation of the commission’s transparency, open-door policy and full cooperation during its assessment mission and ahead of the institute’s International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) for the 2027 general elections.
The INEC chairman reiterated the commission’s neutrality, saying it had no preference for any political party or candidate.
“As an electoral management body, INEC holds no preference for any political 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.
The IRI delegation was led by Ambassador (Dr.) Jendayi Frazier, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa.
Others included Scott Mastic, Vice-President of the International Republican Institute (IRI)
Jenai Cox, IRI Africa Regional Director and Sentell Barnes, IRI West Africa Regional Program Director.
