The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reaffirmed its neutrality ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that it has no preferred political party or candidate.

INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, made the declaration on Friday in Abuja while receiving an ECOWAS pre-election fact-finding delegation led by former Sierra Leone Vice-President, Victor Bockarie Foh.

Amupitan said the commission was assessing its level of preparedness across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones as part of efforts to ensure a smooth electoral process in 2027.

He maintained that INEC’s responsibility was to protect the credibility of the electoral process and respect the choices of Nigerians.

According to the chairman, the elections will cover 8,809 registration areas across the country’s 774 local government areas.

He also disclosed that Nigeria’s voter register had exceeded 103 million, while the commission had completed nine out of the 14 major statutory activities contained in its revised election timetable.

Amupitan said INEC had concluded three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and completed the nationwide display of the preliminary voters’ register.

On election technology, he explained that the commission planned to deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for fingerprint and facial recognition during voter accreditation, alongside electronic systems for managing election results.

He added that INEC had introduced the eEC8A electronic verification platform to strengthen its result management process, complementing the existing INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

The commission is also working with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to address security concerns and ensure peaceful elections.

Speaking for the ECOWAS delegation, Foh explained that the visit was part of the regional organisation’s efforts to examine electoral preparations in member countries scheduled to hold general elections.

He said the team would assess the readiness of electoral institutions and other stakeholders while identifying areas where ECOWAS could provide assistance.

Foh noted that the mission was guided by Article 31 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and Article 53 of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework.

Source credits: Vanguard News, TheCable, BusinessDay and Nigerian Tribune.