Jane Salihu
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has urged the National Assembly to expedite work on the recently passed Electoral Act Amendment Bill to ensure a stable and predictable legal framework well ahead of the 2027 general election.
Amupitan made the call on Thursday in Abuja during INEC’s first regular consultative meeting with political parties for 2026, stressing that early certainty in the law was critical for effective planning and credible elections.
He noted that the Senate had already passed the amendment bill and constituted a conference committee, adding that INEC had concluded its submissions and finalised its timetable for the 2027 polls in line with the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.
The INEC chairman said 2026 would be filled with electoral activities, beginning with the FCT Area Council elections scheduled for February 21, describing them as a key test of preparedness ahead of the general election.
He disclosed that INEC had concluded training of electoral officers and security personnel, configured BVAS devices for accreditation and real-time upload of results, and would conduct a mock accreditation exercise on February 7 across selected polling units in the FCT.
Amupitan also announced that the commission would soon commence a nationwide voter revalidation exercise to clean up the voters’ register ahead of 2027, citing concerns over duplicate entries, non-citizens and deceased persons on the roll.
Beyond logistics, the INEC chairman expressed concern over dwindling voter turnout, warning that declining participation posed a serious threat to democratic legitimacy and called on political parties to intensify voter mobilisation and education.
On party administration, Amupitan cautioned against rising internal leadership disputes, noting that persistent litigations often distracted INEC from its core mandate and undermined public confidence in the democratic process.
Responding on behalf of political parties, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr. Yusuf Dantalle, said Nigerians’ expectations for credible, transparent and inclusive elections had never been higher.
Dantalle urged the National Assembly to fast-track harmonisation of the electoral legal framework, reiterating IPAC’s long-standing advocacy for mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
He stressed that every amendment to the Electoral Act would be judged by how well it strengthened transparency and public trust, adding that INEC’s integrity was tested each time Nigerians went to the polls.
The IPAC chairman also called on INEC to strictly adhere to party constitutions when recognising party leaderships, arguing that such compliance would reduce perceptions of bias and curb avoidable litigations.
Describing the February 2026 FCT Area Council elections as another credibility test, Dantalle said the conduct of the polls, alongside forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, would send strong signals ahead of the 2027 general election.
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