Amupitan urged electoral officials across the North Central region to demonstrate commitment, discipline and professionalism in the discharge of their responsibilities
By Mmesoma Onwuka
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has directed its staff to suspend further annual leave as part of intensified preparations for the 2027 General Election.
The Commission also announced improved salary arrangements, increased field allowances, enhanced funding for state offices and the provision of additional official vehicles to boost personnel welfare and operational efficiency.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, announced the measures on Friday, November 6, 2026, at the Commission’s North Central Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 General Election in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The Commission is preparing for an election involving more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units nationwide.
The Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
Speaking at the meeting, Amupitan urged electoral officials across the North Central region to demonstrate commitment, discipline and professionalism in the discharge of their responsibilities.
He warned against misconduct, political bias, negligence, financial irregularities and absenteeism, stressing that staff found culpable would face disciplinary action.
The INEC chairman also directed Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and Administrative Secretaries to strengthen supervision and enforce strict compliance with attendance and accountability requirements.
On staff welfare, Amupitan disclosed that the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS) took effect on January 1, 2026, following the Commission’s decision to discontinue the conventional civil service salary structure.
He, however, said arrangements were still being made to secure the necessary cash backing for its implementation.
He added that enhanced salary, hazard and field allowance packages had been approved for personnel, while monthly overhead allocations to state offices had been increased by 150 per cent with effect from July 1, 2026.
On logistics, the chairman said pickup vehicles had been distributed to state and Local Government Area offices nationwide, while 20 Sports Utility Vehicles had been acquired for Resident Electoral Commissioners.
He added that plans were underway to provide additional vehicles for Administrative Secretaries to strengthen mobility and facilitate effective election management.
Amupitan also highlighted the importance of technology in ensuring credible elections, particularly in voter accreditation and electronic result management.
He disclosed that the Commission was configuring its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), including 57,000 newly acquired devices, to improve the speed and efficiency of voter identification and accreditation.
According to him, electronic result management platforms, including the eEC8A verification system, were also undergoing audits to strengthen the transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
On voter registration, he said the Commission had introduced Printable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and a digital PVC Location Portal to make it easier for registered voters to access their cards.
He further disclosed that the preliminary voters’ register had been made available for public examination, while the certified Register of Voters was expected to be published on December 15, 2026.
Addressing concerns over photographs contained in the preliminary register, Amupitan explained that the information was still undergoing verification ahead of the publication of the final register.
He stressed that technological investments alone would not guarantee credible elections without proper implementation, adherence to established procedures and responsible conduct by electoral personnel.
On election security, the INEC chairman announced plans to strengthen intelligence-driven coordination through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), under an initiative known as the ICCES Tentacle.
He explained that the initiative was designed to extend security collaboration from the national level to Local Government Areas and Registration Area Centres to enable authorities to identify potential threats, protect election materials and personnel, and guarantee voters’ unhindered access to polling units.
Security agencies involved include the military, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Customs, Immigration, Correctional Service and Federal Road Safety Corps.
He added that Electoral Risk Management tools would be deployed to assess potential security threats and seasonal factors that could affect the conduct of the elections.
Amupitan warned that attacks, threats or intimidation against ad-hoc electoral personnel, National Youth Service Corps members and permanent INEC staff would not be tolerated, assuring that offenders would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
He also identified misinformation, manipulated media reports and artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes as emerging threats to electoral credibility.
According to him, transparent processes and efficient election management remain the Commission’s strongest defence against false information.
He cautioned that avoidable delays in opening polling units, technical failures and unprofessional conduct could undermine public confidence and create opportunities for misinformation.
The Lokoja engagement marked the conclusion of INEC’s nationwide zonal readiness assessment, following similar meetings in the South-West, North-West, South-East, North-East and South-South geopolitical zones.
Presenting the electoral figures for the North Central zone, Amupitan disclosed that the region, comprising Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory, has a combined 15,448,869 registered voters.
The breakdown showed that Benue has 2,777,727 registered voters, Plateau 2,787,273, Niger 2,698,344, Kogi 1,932,654, Nasarawa 1,899,244, Kwara 1,698,627 and the FCT 1,655,000.
He described the region as a critical component of the national electoral process, highlighting Kogi State’s strategic geographical position and its links with neighbouring states.
The chairman said the assessment was intended to identify operational challenges early enough for corrective measures to be implemented and ensure that local realities were incorporated into the Commission’s overall election planning.
He also revealed that INEC had completed nine of the 14 major milestones contained in its statutory timetable, noting that the remaining tasks required sustained attention as the elections approach.
Reviewing the Commission’s recent activities, Amupitan said his administration had conducted governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states, alongside FCT Area Council elections and 16 bye-elections.
He described the exercises as opportunities to assess the Commission’s performance, identify shortcomings and improve electoral processes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
During the interactive session, directors from INEC’s national headquarters and representatives of state offices presented updates on their respective areas of responsibility.
Discussions covered voter education, registration, information and communication technology, human resources, electoral operations, security, training and stakeholder engagement.
Earlier, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Kogi State, Dr. Alhaji Shehu L. Wahab, said the state office was intensifying preparations despite additional responsibilities arising from the restoration of 12 previously suppressed State Constituencies.
He listed ongoing activities to include Electoral Risk Management, election monitoring, security coordination and awareness programmes targeting persons with disabilities.
Wahab also disclosed that the Commission was collaborating with security agencies to address concerns about the perception of Kogi State as a violence-prone environment during elections.
The engagement followed a courtesy visit by the INEC chairman to the Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers on Thursday, where he sought the traditional institution’s cooperation in promoting voter participation, peaceful political activities and efforts to combat electoral misinformation.
The two-day meeting brought together National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, Directors, Administrative Secretaries, Heads of Departments, Electoral Officers and other personnel of the Commission.
In her remarks, the Director of Planning and Monitoring, Mrs. Helen Ajayi, said the exercise was organised to assess the preparedness of state offices, identify logistical and operational challenges, improve staff motivation and evaluate the implementation of INEC’s strategic plans.
She urged Electoral Officers and other field personnel to cooperate with the assessment teams and maintain close working relationships with the Planning and Monitoring Department to ensure that identified gaps were promptly addressed.
With nine of the 14 major statutory milestones already completed, INEC is intensifying preparations for the 2027 General Election, emphasising that credible elections will depend not only on technological investments but also on staff discipline, institutional accountability, adequate logistics and professional conduct.