By Hosanna Eseose
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has directed staff of the commission to suspend annual leave until after the 2027 general elections as preparations intensify for the nationwide exercise.
Amupitan gave the directive on Friday in Lokoja, Kogi State, during the North-Central Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 General Election, which marked the conclusion of the commission’s nationwide operational readiness tour.
The INEC chairman disclosed that nine of the 14 major statutory milestones in the election timetable had been completed, stressing that the remaining preparations required increased attention as the polls approached.
He said the 2027 general election would involve more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units.
The 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.
Amupitan said the nationwide assessment tour was designed to identify operational weaknesses, address local challenges and prevent voters from being disenfranchised through administrative or logistical failures.
He warned that partisanship, negligence, financial impropriety and absenteeism among staff would attract swift sanctions under Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026, which provides for a formal Oath of Neutrality.
“You are the human bridge translating the Electoral Act 2026 into democratic reality. Know the law, understand your responsibility, maintain absolute neutrality, document every action, and protect the integrity of the ballot,” he charged the staff.
On preparations for the elections, Amupitan said the commission was configuring its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, including 57,000 newly procured units.
He added that electronic result management systems were undergoing audits to ensure transparent transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
The chairman also disclosed that Printable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and a digital PVC Location Portal had been activated, while the preliminary register of voters had been published for public scrutiny.
He said the certified Register of Voters would be published on December 15, 2026.
On logistics, Amupitan said operational pick-up vehicles had been distributed to state and local government offices, while 20 Sports Utility Vehicles had been procured for Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
He added that the commission had approved enhanced salaries, hazard and field allowances, as well as a 150 per cent increase in monthly overheads to state offices, effective July 1, 2026.
Addressing election security, the INEC chairman unveiled an intelligence-led framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle” under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), designed to extend security coordination from the national headquarters to local government areas and registration area centres.
He warned that anyone threatening or attacking electoral personnel would face the full weight of the law.
“Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our constitutional resolve is stronger. Anyone attempting to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will face the full weight of the law,” he said.
Amupitan also cautioned against fake news and digital disinformation, insisting that credible field operations and transparent data management would protect the integrity of the electoral process.
He identified Kogi as a strategic electoral gateway, noting that the state shares boundaries with 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to him, the North-Central zone has 15,448,869 registered voters, with Kogi accounting for 1,932,654.
Earlier, the Director of Planning and Monitoring, Mrs Helen Ajayi, said the assessment was aimed at evaluating the preparedness of state offices and identifying operational and logistical challenges.
She highlighted Electoral Risk Management as an important tool for identifying potential flashpoints and stressed the need for traditional rulers to support grassroots mobilisation ahead of the elections.
The conclusion of the readiness tour followed a meeting between Amupitan and the Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers on Thursday, where he solicited their support for peaceful elections.
He urged the traditional rulers to assist INEC in mobilising eligible voters to collect their PVCs, discouraging electoral violence and political thuggery, and tackling misinformation, including artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes.
The chairman disclosed that PVC collection was being decentralised across the 774 local government areas, with collection points moved closer to citizens at ward level.
He assured Nigerians that INEC remained politically neutral, declaring that the commission had no candidate in the 2027 elections.
Responding on behalf of the Council, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, His Royal Majesty Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Muhammad, pledged the traditional institution’s collaboration with INEC and urged the chairman to uphold fairness, transparency, accountability and the rule of law.
