NORTH-CENTRAL READINESS: INEC CHAIRMAN RAISES THE BAR FOR 2027 POLLS, UNVEILS WELFARE AND LOGISTICS REFORMS, WARNS STAFF AGAINST NEGLIGENCE AND PARTISANSHIP

NORTH-CENTRAL READINESS: INEC CHAIRMAN RAISES THE BAR FOR 2027 POLLS, UNVEILS WELFARE AND LOGISTICS REFORMS, WARNS STAFF AGAINST NEGLIGENCE AND PARTISANSHIP

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has directed its personnel to suspend further annual leave as preparations intensify for the 2027 General Election, while announcing a package of workforce, welfare and logistical measures aimed at strengthening its nationwide operations.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, 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.

The directive comes as the Commission prepares to conduct elections involving more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units nationwide, with the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections fixed for February 6, 2027.

Addressing senior officials and field personnel from the six North-Central states and the Federal Capital Territory, Amupitan said the approaching elections required heightened administrative discipline, operational efficiency and absolute commitment from every member of staff.

He warned that partisanship, negligence, financial impropriety and absenteeism would attract decisive sanctions, directing Resident Electoral Commissioners and Administrative Secretaries to enforce strict attendance and accountability measures.

The Chairman's address also outlined a series of institutional changes, including the introduction of a new salary structure, enhanced field allowances, increased state office funding and the provision of additional operational vehicles.

A major component of the reforms is the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), which, according to the Chairman, took effect from January 1, 2026, following the Commission's move away from the conventional civil service salary structure. He said processes for cash-backing the arrangement were ongoing.

He also disclosed that the Commission had approved enhanced salary, hazard and field allowance packages for personnel, alongside a 150 per cent increase in monthly overhead allocations to state offices, effective July 1, 2026.

On logistics, Prof. Amupitan announced that operational pick-up vehicles had been distributed to state and Local Government Area offices nationwide. He added that 20 Sports Utility Vehicles had been procured for Resident Electoral Commissioners, while Administrative Secretaries would also receive new vehicles.

The measures, he said, were intended to strengthen the Commission's operational capacity and ensure that personnel had the resources required to discharge their responsibilities across the country.

Beyond personnel and welfare, the Chairman identified technology, voter accreditation and electronic transmission of results as critical areas requiring sustained attention ahead of the elections.

He disclosed that the Commission was configuring its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), including 57,000 newly procured devices, to support faster voter verification and accreditation.

He also said electronic result management systems, including the eEC8A verification platform, were undergoing audits to ensure the transparent transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

The Commission, he said, had activated Printable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and a digital PVC Location Portal to facilitate voter access. He further disclosed that the preliminary voters' register had been published for public scrutiny, with the certified Register of Voters scheduled for publication on December 15, 2026.

Addressing concerns over photographs appearing on the preliminary register, Amupitan said the data remained subject to verification before the final register would be published.

He stressed that the Commission's technological investments must be matched by strict adherence to established procedures and operational standards, noting that administrative lapses could undermine public confidence even where the necessary technology was available.

On election security, the INEC Chairman announced a more coordinated, intelligence-led approach under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), which he described as the "ICCES Tentacle".

The framework is designed to extend security coordination from the national level to Local Government Areas and Registration Area Centres, with emphasis on identifying potential flashpoints, protecting election personnel and equipment, and ensuring that voters can access polling units without intimidation.

He identified the military, police, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Customs, Immigration, Correctional Service and Federal Road Safety Corps among the agencies involved in the wider security arrangement.

The Chairman said the Commission would deploy Electoral Risk Management tools to identify security threats and seasonal risk factors ahead of election day.

He warned that anyone who threatened, intimidated or harmed ad-hoc personnel, National Youth Service Corps members or permanent staff would face the full weight of the law.

Amupitan also identified misinformation, fabricated media content and artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes as emerging threats to electoral credibility.

He argued that the most effective response to false narratives was transparent administration and efficient field operations, warning that delayed opening of polling units, technical failures and poor staff conduct could provide grounds for public distrust and misinformation.

The Lokoja meeting marked the conclusion of the Commission's nationwide zonal readiness assessment, following similar engagements in the South-West, North-West, South-East, North-East and South-South.

The North-Central zone, comprising Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau states, alongside the Federal Capital Territory, has a combined 15,448,869 registered voters, according to figures presented by the Chairman.

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.

Prof. Amupitan described the zone as strategically important to the national electoral process, pointing particularly to Kogi's geographical position and its connections with neighbouring states.

He said the assessment was intended to identify operational weaknesses before election day, ensure that local challenges were reflected in national planning and prevent voters from being disenfranchised through administrative or logistical failures.

The Chairman disclosed that the Commission had completed nine of the 14 major milestones in its statutory timetable, stressing that the remaining preparations required increased attention as the election dates approached.

Under his administration, INEC has conducted governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun, FCT Area Council elections and 16 bye-elections, which he said provided opportunities to test and refine its operational arrangements.

The interactive meeting also provided an opportunity for directors from the Commission's national headquarters and representatives of state offices to review their respective areas of responsibility and present operational updates.

The presentations covered voter education and publicity, voter registration, information and communication technology, human resources, electoral operations, security, training and stakeholder engagement.

In his welcome address, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Kogi State, Dr. Alhaji Shehu L. Wahab, said the state office was preparing for the elections despite additional responsibilities arising from the restoration of 12 previously suppressed State Constituencies.

He disclosed that internal preparations, including Electoral Risk Management activities, election monitoring and security coordination, as well as awareness programmes for persons with disabilities, were ongoing.

Dr. Wahab also said the state office was working with security agencies to address the perception of Kogi as a violence-prone state during elections.

The Chairman's engagement with staff followed a courtesy visit to the Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers on Thursday, where he sought the support of traditional institutions for voter mobilisation, peaceful political participation and efforts to counter electoral misinformation.

The two-day engagement in Lokoja brought together National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, Directors, Administrative Secretaries, HODs, Electoral Officers (EO) and other staff of the Commission, with the central focus on translating preparations at headquarters into effective operations across states and local government areas.

The Director of Planning and Monitoring, Mrs. Helen Ajayi, said the assessment was designed to evaluate state preparedness, identify operational and logistical challenges, improve staff motivation and monitor the implementation of the Commission's strategic plans.

She urged Electoral Officers and other field personnel to cooperate with assessment teams and work closely with the Planning and Monitoring Department to identify gaps and ensure that planned activities were implemented effectively.

With nine of the 14 statutory milestones completed and the election timetable firmly in place, the Commission's message to its workforce was clear: the credibility of the 2027 elections will depend not only on the technology deployed but also on the discipline, neutrality, welfare and operational performance of the people responsible for delivering them.