By George Mgbeleke

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has urged Nigerians to trust his leadership to deliver free, fair, and credible general elections in 2027, pointing to measurable operational improvements recorded in recent off-cycle polls and new technical safeguards designed to prevent a repeat of the 2023 election controversies.

In a statement signed by his Media Adviser,Adedayo Oketola, Prof. Amupitan spoke on Thursday at Chatham House, London, during a high-level dialogue convened in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) under the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”

Addressing the trust deficit left by the 2023 presidential election, the INEC Chairman acknowledged that the controversies surrounding that exercise severely dented public confidence in the electoral body—damage from which the Commission is still working to recover.

“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.

However, Prof. Amupitan, who assumed office in October 2025, noted that the Commission had treated every subsequent election as a practical laboratory to identify operational weaknesses and strengthen accreditation, voting, and result management.

Responding to a question on why Nigerians should trust his leadership ahead of 2027, he cited the successful conduct of the Anambra and Osun governorship elections, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council polls, the Ekiti governorship election, and 16 legislative by-elections.

“Why must Nigerians trust me? Nigerians must trust me because, number one, I have conducted off-cycle elections—and observers agree that the recent election in Osun State marked a clear improvement,” he said. “Every election is a lesson. The 2023 general election was a major lesson for Nigeria, and the Anambra election was another.”

He noted that Anambra and Osun previously had histories of prolonged, inconclusive governorship contests—recalling that the 2021 Anambra governorship poll took roughly five days to conclude—whereas targeted administrative reforms under his watch enabled results in both states to be declared the day after voting.

New Safeguards on IReV and Collation
Highlighting insecurity, logistics, and result management as INEC’s three top priorities for 2027, Prof. Amupitan revealed that the Commission’s post-2023 audit traced the most acute result management failures to collation centres rather than polling units.

To eliminate discrepancies between polling unit figures and collation sheets, he announced that INEC has built strict validation safeguards into its system so that inaccurate results or figures reflecting over-voting cannot be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

“We found that the core problem of election result management and declaration in Nigeria is not even at the polling unit—it is at the collation centres,” he explained. “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.

“The moment a result appears on IReV, citizens can trust what they see. By eliminating inconsistencies at the source, collation will become a transparent formality.”

Prof. Amupitan disclosed that while INEC considered introducing an entirely new electoral technology for 2027, it opted instead to upgrade and harden its existing infrastructure due to the tight operational timeline before the polls.

Addressing malfunctions of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) linked to extreme heat and storage conditions in 2023, he announced that INEC is constructing climate-controlled storage facilities across all states. Additionally, the Commission has procured extra devices and reduced the maximum number of voters assigned per BVAS machine from 1,250 to 850, ensuring polling units exceeding 850 registered voters are deployed with multiple devices.

To test these upgrades ahead of the polls, Prof. Amupitan announced a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise scheduled for November 28, 2026.

“On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise across all states of the federation to simulate the presidential election and verify that we have gotten both accreditation and electronic result transmission right,” he stated.

On election financing, the Chairman confirmed that while INEC has received a substantial portion of its 2027 election budget, it awaits the release of the outstanding balance—part of which is earmarked for the recruitment and welfare of ad hoc personnel—and has received assurances that the funds will be released before the end of November.

Addressing questions regarding his neutrality following social media allegations linking his phone number to a controversial X (formerly Twitter) account, Prof. Amupitan categorically denied ever operating an X account. He noted that an independent forensic review had been obtained and the matter formally referred to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.

He also dismissed suggestions that his past legal representation in political disputes would compromise his impartiality, stressing that he acted strictly within his professional duties as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria prior to his appointment.

“My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act,” he affirmed. “Every constitutional institution—including the Presidency, the National Assembly, and state governors—owes its primary loyalty to the Constitution and the rule of law.”

On concerns regarding alleged voter register anomalies, including claims of an 85 per cent surge in registrants in a ward in Ebonyi State, he stated that the Commission had already investigated and resolved the complaint in line with statutory procedures, noting that the Electoral Act provides clear windows for public claims, objections, and requests for certified true copies of the register.

Concluding his remarks, Prof. Amupitan urged Nigerian youths to stay actively involved in the democratic process and guard against digital disinformation.

“This country belongs to young Nigerians, and they must not relent in working for the Nigeria they desire,” he said. “Misinformation remains one of the greatest threats to our democracy. Citizens must verify information before acting or sharing, and give our democracy the chance to succeed.”

The 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will be held on February 6, 2027.

By Our Correspondent

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the newly released 2027 manifesto of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a shameless repackaging of promises made in 2023, many of which remain unfulfilled.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the document reads like the manifesto of a new political party seeking power for the first time, rather than one that has governed Nigeria since 2015 and presided over the worst affordability crisis Nigerians have experienced under the current administration.

“The fundamental question Nigerians must ask is simple: Why is a government campaigning on promises it should already have fulfilled? President Tinubu has been in office since May 2023. The APC has controlled the Federal Government for nearly twelve years. Yet, reading this manifesto, one would think they are only now discovering the problems they were elected to solve.

“In 2023, President Tinubu promised health insurance for 40 per cent of Nigerians within two years. Today, barely one in ten Nigerians is covered, and the same target has been moved to 2031. He promised one million ICT jobs within 24 months. His government’s own figures indicate only about 15,000 jobs and opportunity pathways.

“In 2023, the APC described electricity supply of 4,500 megawatts as a crisis. Its new manifesto acknowledges average generation of just 4,022 megawatts. How does a government campaign to solve a crisis it has made remarkably worse?

“Most astonishingly, President Tinubu now promises a programme for his first 100 days after re-election, including measures he already possesses the executive powers to implement right now. What exactly is stopping him from acting today? What stopped him from acting in 2023 when he came into office?”

The ADC emphasized that Nigerians should not have to re-elect a President to get him to do the job they elected him to do four years earlier.

“Tinubu wants Nigerians to forget that poverty has risen to 63 per cent under his watch; that the N70,000 minimum wage has lost more than a quarter of its purchasing power, and that millions of families can no longer afford the basic necessities of life.

“Yet, rather than account for the hardship he has inflicted on Nigerians and his long catalogue of failures across the economy and security sectors, the president and his party have the temerity to present another colourful brochure full of the same undelivered promises.

“A manifesto is a promise of what a party will do. A record is evidence of what it has done. After eleven years, the APC cannot keep presenting promises as a substitute for performance.

“The ADC demands that President Tinubu account for every major promise he made to Nigerians in 2023 before presenting another manifesto in 2027. He must tell Nigerians, clearly and publicly, what he promised, what he delivered, what he failed to deliver, and why. He cannot simply shift the deadlines he missed, recycle the promises he broke, and expect Nigerians to reward him with another four years. The President must understand that 2027 is first a referendum on his abysmal record since 2023, not an opportunity to pretend that his presidency is just about to begin.

“Nigeria needs a change of government, not another change of slogans.”

By David Owei,Bayelsa

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro, has commended the people of Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State, for turning out in large numbers at the campaign tour of Governor Sherrif Oborevwori to the area on Tuesday.

Dr Otuaro said the massive crowd of APC members and supporters at the rally, which was held at the Ogbe-Ijoh Grammar School compound, Ogbe-Ijoh, indicated a strong endorsement of Governor Oborevwori and President Tinubu for another term.

According to him, the residents of Warri South-West have sent a clear message that they are for the governor and the President in the 2027 general elections.

Dr Otuaro, who is a prominent indigene of Warri South-West LGA, stressed that the combined impacts of the administrations of President Tinubu and Governor Oborevwori in the council area and other parts of the state, readily informed the decision of the people to vote for them and other APC candidates.

He said the people are happy with the achievements of the two administrations in the areas of infrastructure, education, health, agriculture, employment, grassroots development, workers’ welfare, social welfare, peace and security, amongst others.

“The people of Warri South-West have spoken and made their position known that they are for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, who are APC candidates in the governorship and presidential elections, respectively, come 2027,” Dr Otuaro said.

“Our people have declared that it is the APC all the way in Warri South-West. They have endorsed continuity for both the president and the governor.

“They recognize that President Tinubu is strongly supporting development across Delta State. They also appreciate the commitment of Governor Oborevwori to the development of Delta in general and Warri South-West LGA in particular.

“They know that a combination of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Governor Oborevwori’s Meaningful development, Opportunities for all, Realistic reforms, and Enhanced peace and security (M.O.R.E) Agenda is a good template of development.”

The PAP boss further noted that the people of Warri South-West LGA are confident of victory for President Tinubu and Governor Oborevwori, stressing that “they believe that with continuity, more development will come to our locality.”

He extended his profound appreciation to the leadership of the Warri South-West Local Government Area APC Campaign Council, critical stakeholders and community leaders, for engaging in structured mobilisation for the rally and the poll.

At the event, Governor Oborevwori stressed had that the huge grassroots support and political strength of the APC would engender electoral victory for President Tinubu and other party candidates in the state.

While re-assuring the people of his administration’s commitment to more development, he urged party leaders, youth and women groups, and all stakeholders to deploy the APC’s strength of unity to deliver the party at the polls.

In his remarks, the Director-General of the Delta APC Campaign Council, Senator James Manager, called on the people of Warri South-West to lead the mobilisation efforts across the state for President Tinubu, Governor Oborevwori and other party candidates.

According to him, the president and the governor deserved second term to consolidate their achievements.

In their separate remarks, the Delta South and Central APC chairmen, Emmanuel Amgbaduba and Paulinus Akpeki, expressed the optimism that the party would win and called on the residents to vote for the party’s candidates.

The state APC chairman, Solomon Arenyeka, presented party flags to the party’s candidates–Thomas Ereyitomi for the House of Representatives, Guwor Emomotimi and Andrew Igban for the Warri South-West 1 and Warri South-West 2 State Constituencies.