Jane Salihu
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has received more than 5,400 claims and objections following the public display of the Preliminary Register of Voters, as preparations intensify for the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja while receiving the ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission at the Commission’s national headquarters.
He said the complaints comprised over 4,800 claims and approximately 600 objections submitted through registration areas, electoral officers and Resident Electoral Commissioners.
According to him, most of the claims relate to corrections and other minor discrepancies identified by voters during the display exercise.
Amupitan said the Commission was reviewing the submissions to ensure that all legitimate complaints were addressed before the certification of the Final Register of Voters scheduled for December 15, 2026.
He noted that with the register containing more than 103 million registered voters, the exercise was critical to eliminating discrepancies and strengthening the credibility of the electoral process.
The INEC chairman also announced plans for a nationwide mock accreditation exercise in November to simultaneously test voter accreditation and electronic transmission of election results across the country.
He disclosed that the Commission had introduced an additional safeguard requiring election results to be authenticated at polling units before transmission to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Amupitan explained that rather than introduce an entirely new technology within the available timeframe, the Commission had opted to strengthen the existing electoral technology.
On operational preparedness, he said INEC had conducted zonal assessments in Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu and Gombe, with the North-Central zone scheduled for a similar visit next week.
He said the assessments had revealed the need for additional deployments in some locations due to difficult terrain and prevailing security challenges.
Reflecting on his first year in office, Amupitan said the Commission had conducted four major off-cycle elections and 16 by-elections.
He cited the Anambra governorship election, conducted shortly after he assumed office, as an example of improved electoral administration, noting that the results were concluded and announced within one day, compared with about five days in 2022.
He said lessons from the exercise were subsequently applied in the FCT election in February, Ekiti governorship election in June and Osun governorship election on August 8, 2026.
On staff welfare, the INEC chairman disclosed that approval had been secured for the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), expressing optimism that improved welfare would reduce vulnerability to political influence.
He also said the Commission was strengthening security arrangements and making provisions for Internally Displaced Persons to ensure their participation in the electoral process.
Amupitan called for stronger international cooperation in tackling electoral disinformation, improving logistics in difficult terrains and promoting inclusive voter education.
He assured the ECOWAS delegation that the Commission remained politically neutral, declaring that INEC under his leadership had no preferred candidate or political party.
Earlier, the leader of the ECOWAS Mission and former Sierra Leonean Vice-President, Victor Bockarie Foh, said the delegation was in Nigeria to assess preparations for the 2027 general elections.
He explained that the mission would engage political parties, government officials, INEC, civil society organisations and other stakeholders while examining the legal framework governing the elections.
The Co-Head of Mission, Dr. Abbas Chernor Bundu, a former Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, said the visit was also intended to identify areas where the regional body could provide technical and institutional support.
The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Francess Piagie Alghali, was also present.
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