The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has warned staff of the commission against deliberate errors and administrative lapses capable of undermining the credibility of the 2027 general election.
Amupitan gave the warning on Friday during an interactive meeting with INEC staff in Lokoja, Kogi State, where he charged them to be professional, neutral and accountable, and to ensure no registered voter is disenfranchised due to negligence or logistical failure.
The gathering was part of INEC’s nationwide readiness assessment ahead of presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, and governorship and state assembly elections set for February 6, 2027.
Amupitan said the Commission’s credibility would depend on professionalism, neutrality, accountability and efficient administration.
He urged electoral personnel to prevent eligible voters from being disenfranchised through negligence or logistical failures.
“Let us avoid deliberate mistakes,” he said.
“We must ensure that the process is managed efficiently and effectively.”
The chairman said credible elections could not be achieved through last-minute preparations or public pronouncements, but required sustained planning, ethical conduct, technological investment, staff welfare and stronger administrative systems.
The 2027 election will span all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with 176,846 polling units and a voter register that has surpassed 103 million people.
INEC has completed nine of 14 major statutory preparations listed in its revised election timetable.
Amupitan said the Commission must improve on its performance in previous off-cycle elections in Anambra, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun and the Federal Capital Territory.
He described the nationwide vote as a test of INEC’s technical capacity and administrative discipline.
The INEC Chairman said the Commission was working with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), to protect voters, election workers and materials.
INEC election-risk-management tools to identify vulnerable areas in the North Central zone and share assessments with security agencies for preventive deployment.
He also said intelligence-led operations had disrupted an alleged plan to threaten, intimidate or kidnap ad-hoc electoral workers, including National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.
Suspected organizers had been arrested and charged through the Department of State Services, he said.
Amupitan warned that social-media misinformation and manipulated videos could erode public confidence in the vote.
He called on INEC’s voter-education and publicity departments to intensify public enlightenment and urged citizens to verify information before sharing it.
He said operational failures, such as late-opening polling units, technical problems and poor staff conduct, could provide material for false claims.
Transparency and efficient field operations, he argued, were the strongest defenses against disinformation.
INEC has introduced welfare and operational reforms intended to improve staff morale and readiness.
These include a new Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure effective January 1, 2026, enhanced salary, hazard and field allowances, and a 150% increase in monthly overhead allocations to state offices from July 1.
The Commission also plans improved office infrastructure, a staff-housing scheme, severance benefits and additional vehicles for logistics.
Amupitan said some approved benefits were still awaiting cash backing.
The North Central zone has 15.44 million registered voters, while Kogi State alone has more than 1.93 million.
Amupitan described the region as strategically important because it borders 10 states across four geopolitical zones.
He told staff that they were the “human bridge” translating the Electoral Act into democratic reality, urging them to know the law, remain neutral, document their actions and protect the integrity of the ballot.
