By George Mgbeleke
\nAhead of 2027 general elections,the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has completed work on the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 General Election. <\/p>\n
Making this declaration in Abuja on Wednesday,during an engagement with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, reaffirmed the Commission\u2019s its readiness to conduct a credible poll despite delays in the amendment of the Electoral Act at the National Assembly.<\/p>\n
According to him, the Commission has already forwarded its recommendations on the proposed Electoral Act amendments to lawmakers and is currently awaiting legislative action. He noted, however, that the timing of the amendment could influence certain aspects of the election schedule.<\/p>\n
Prof. Amupitan explained that while the timetable has been finalized, some outlined activities may require adjustments depending on when the National Assembly concludes work on the amended law<\/p>\n
He added,”Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 empowers the Commission to issue a notice of election not later than 360 days before the date of the poll. While the National Assembly is currently working on amendments to the Electoral Act, the Commission has made its submission as required. We are mindful of the growing public interest and anticipation surrounding the release of the timetable and wish to assure political parties and the Nigerian public that the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election has been finalised in full compliance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and the Electoral Act, 2022. <\/p>\n
“Having said that, we seek your support in urging the National Assembly to expedite action on the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act.”<\/p>\n
He emphasized that INEC remains committed to delivering a transparent and credible election and will continue to operate within the provisions of the existing legal framework until any new amendments are passed and signed into law.<\/p>\n
The development, he said, underscores the Commission\u2019s proactive planning approach ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle<\/p>\n
On Voter Revalidation, Amupitan noted that a credible register of voters remains the bedrock of free, fair and transparent elections. <\/p>\n
“No electoral process can command public confidence without trust in the integrity of its voters\u2019 register. Nigeria\u2019s national register, first compiled ahead of the 2011 General Election, has since been continuously updated and deployed in the General Elections of 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023, as well as in several off-cycle governorship and bye-elections. As of the 2023 General Election, the register stood at 93,469,008 voters. <\/p>\n
“However, persistent challenges \u2014including duplicate registrations, under-age registration, registration by non-citizens, deceased voters and incomplete or inaccurate records\u2014 continue to generate legitimate concerns. Such anomalies undermine public confidence in the electoral process.”<\/p>\n
He noted in response the need to give the electorate the opportunity to participateat the 2027 election, the Commission will embark on a thorough clean-up with a view to further sanitising and strengthening the integrity of the register.<\/p>\n
Accordingly, the Commission will be embarking on a nationwide Voter Revalidation Exercise ahead of the 2027 General Election. <\/p>\n
On the Commission\u2019s preparedness for the conduct of FCT area council elections in February 21st, Prof Amupitan disclosed that , “non-sensitive materials have been delivered and are being batched at each Area Council. Recruitment of Ad Hoc personnel have been concluded and their training began on 2nd February 2026. <\/p>\n
“While Election Security Personnel have been trained, Supervising Presiding Officers (SPOs), Presiding Officers (POs) and Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs) are currently undergoing training. Furthermore, BVAS devices are being configured for accreditation and upload of results to the IReV portal, and sensitive materials will be delivered a day before the election. There will be a mock accreditation on Saturday, 7th February 2026, in 289 selected Polling Units (PUs) across the six Area Councils.<\/p>\n
” The selected PUs will be made available on the Commission\u2019s website. While INEC has deployed specialised resources and targeted sensitisation programmes to empower voters with disabilities and ensure inclusivity, 83 domestic and five foreign observers have been accredited for the polls.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke Ahead of 2027 general elections,the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has completed work on the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 General Election. Making this declaration in Abuja on Wednesday,during an engagement with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, reaffirmed the Commission\u2019s its readiness to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[5934,1879,77,1222],"class_list":["post-10820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-uncategorized","tag-continue","tag-credible","tag-election","tag-transparent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10820"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10823,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10820\/revisions\/10823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}