The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has urged Nigerians to trust the commission’s leadership to deliver free, fair and credible elections in 2027, citing ongoing reforms aimed at addressing the shortcomings of the 2023 general elections.
Amupitan gave the assurance on Thursday, November 12, 2026, while speaking at Chatham House, London, during a high-level dialogue organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) on the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”
Acknowledging that the controversies surrounding the 2023 presidential election had significantly damaged public confidence in INEC, the chairman said the commission had used subsequent off-cycle elections to identify operational weaknesses and strengthen its electoral processes.
He cited the recent governorship elections in Anambra and Osun states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, the Ekiti governorship election and 16 legislative by-elections as evidence of improvements under his leadership.
“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.
According to him, unlike previous experiences in Anambra and Osun, where governorship elections had sometimes taken several days to conclude, results in the two states were declared the day after voting under the commission’s improved processes.
Identifying insecurity, logistics and result management as INEC’s major priorities ahead of the 2027 elections, Amupitan disclosed that the commission had introduced additional technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate results and figures reflecting over-voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
He said a post-2023 assessment revealed that some of the major challenges associated with election result management occurred at collation centres rather than polling units.
“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,” he said, adding that the new measures would strengthen public confidence in electronically transmitted results.
On the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the INEC chairman said the commission was addressing the device malfunctions associated with extreme heat and storage conditions during the 2023 elections.
He disclosed that climate-controlled storage facilities were being constructed across the states, while additional BVAS machines had been procured to improve efficiency.
He also announced that the maximum number of voters assigned to a BVAS machine had been reduced from 1,250 to 850, with polling units having more than 850 registered voters to be provided with multiple devices.
To assess the effectiveness of the upgrades, Amupitan announced that INEC would conduct a nationwide mock accreditation exercise on November 28, 2026, to test its accreditation and electronic result transmission systems ahead of the general elections.
On funding, he confirmed that the commission had received a substantial portion of its 2027 election budget but was awaiting the release of the outstanding balance, particularly funds required for the recruitment and welfare of ad hoc electoral personnel.
He said the commission had received assurances that the outstanding funds would be released before the end of November.
Addressing concerns about his neutrality following social media allegations linking his phone number to a controversial X account, formerly Twitter, Amupitan denied ever operating an account on the platform.
He said an independent forensic review had been obtained and the matter referred to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.
The INEC chairman also dismissed suggestions that his previous legal engagements in political disputes could undermine his impartiality, insisting that he had acted strictly in his professional capacity as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria before his appointment.
“My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act,” he declared.
On allegations of irregularities in the voters’ register, including claims of an 85 per cent increase in registered voters in a ward in Ebonyi State, Amupitan said the commission had investigated and addressed the complaint in accordance with established legal procedures.
He urged Nigerians, particularly young people, to remain actively involved in the electoral process and resist the spread of misinformation and digital disinformation.
The INEC chairman emphasised the importance of verifying information before sharing it, describing misinformation as one of the major threats to Nigeria’s democracy.
The 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
