The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that it has no preferred candidate or political party ahead of the 2027 general elections, pledging to ensure a credible process that reflects the will of Nigerian voters.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, stated this on Friday in Abuja when he received a pre-election fact-finding mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by former Sierra Leone Vice-President, Victor Bockarie Foh.
Amupitan said the commission was conducting a nationwide readiness assessment across the country’s geopolitical zones as part of preparations for the 2027 elections.
“INEC under my watch has no candidate and no political party,” he declared.
“Our sole allegiance is to the rule of law, the sovereign will of the Nigerian electorate, and the democratic progress of our nation.”
The INEC chairman disclosed that the 2027 elections would be conducted across 8,809 registration areas and 774 local government areas.
He said Nigeria’s voter register had surpassed 103 million, while the commission had completed nine of the 14 major statutory milestones contained in its revised election timetable.
According to him, INEC had also concluded three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and completed the nationwide physical display of the preliminary voters’ register.
On election technology, Amupitan said the commission would deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System for fingerprint and facial biometric accreditation, alongside electronic result management systems.
He added that INEC had introduced the eEC8A electronic verification platform to strengthen its result management process, complementing the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
On security, the chairman said the commission was working with relevant security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to ensure adequate protection before, during and after the elections.
Speaking on behalf of the ECOWAS delegation, Foh explained that the mission’s visit was part of the regional body’s efforts to assess electoral preparedness in member states approaching general elections.
He said the delegation, which included Serigne Mamadou Ka, Head of the ECOWAS Electoral Assistance Division, would assess the preparedness of electoral stakeholders and identify areas where the regional organisation could provide support.
Foh said the exercise was being undertaken in accordance with Article 31 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and Article 53 of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework.