The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced a six-zone national readiness tour ahead of the 2027 General Election, beginning with the South-West zone in Lagos.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, launched the exercise on Monday, September 7, 2026, during a South-West Zonal Interactive Meeting and Readiness Assessment held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja.
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The exercise is aimed at assessing the Commission’s operational preparedness across the country’s six geopolitical zones ahead of 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.
Amupitan, who was accompanied by National Commissioners and Directors from the Commission’s headquarters, said the zonal engagements marked a departure from the administrative practice of the past two decades, when such preparations were largely handled through headquarters directorates.
He said the Commission’s leadership needed to engage directly with Electoral Officers and administrative staff because the success of elections was ultimately determined at the local government areas, registration area centres and polling units.
According to him, field officers remain the frontline guardians of Nigeria’s democracy, adding that the conduct and competence of staff would be critical to overcoming voter apathy, public distrust and the spread of misinformation and disinformation ahead of the elections.
The INEC chairman said the Commission would build on lessons from recent off-cycle elections, particularly the Osun State governorship election, which he said demonstrated the importance of operational discipline, technical competence and administrative integrity.
He, however, warned that the 2027 General Election would require a higher level of preparedness because of its scale, with elections taking place across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Amupitan disclosed that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise conducted in three phases between August 2025 and July 2026 recorded 10,772,421 new registrants, subject to ongoing Automated Biometric Identification System verification.
He said the latest phase introduced an online registration portal for eligible voters, while a new printable Permanent Voter’s Card technology was deployed during the Osun election.
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The chairman said the national voter register was approaching 100 million voters, stressing that INEC would ensure eligible Nigerians were not disenfranchised by logistical challenges in the distribution of PVCs.
On electoral technology, Amupitan said the Commission was refining its result management systems, including the eEC8A, to improve the verifiability of election results from polling units through to the national collation centre.
He also reiterated INEC’s zero-tolerance policy towards partisan conduct and administrative negligence among its personnel, citing Section 26 of the Electoral Act, which provides for an oath of neutrality by relevant election officials and security personnel.
The chairman said the Commission was also finalising a new salary and welfare package for its staff, Commission members and Resident Electoral Commissioners.
In her welcome address, the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Ayobami Salami, said the state was honoured to host the maiden edition of the zonal engagement.
Salami said electoral credibility was built through early preparation, competent personnel and effective coordination, rather than being determined only on Election Day.
She said the South-West presented a diverse electoral environment requiring readiness assessments that would examine logistics, technology and stakeholder engagement across the six states.
The Director of Planning and Monitoring, Mrs Helen Ajayi, said the engagement was designed to assess the preparedness of the South-West states, identify operational and logistical challenges and provide updates on voter registration, PVC collection and ICT deployment.
She added that the exercise would also align staff with INEC’s Code of Conduct and operational and logistics requirements ahead of the elections.
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The Lagos meeting featured presentations and interactive sessions on voter registration, electoral technology, staff conduct, logistics, security, training, voter education and stakeholder engagement.
The exercise marks the beginning of INEC’s six-zone national tour, with the Commission’s leadership set to engage stakeholders and assess preparedness across the country ahead of the 2027 General Election.