The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has identified security risks, electoral violence, vote-buying, hate speech, disinformation and foreign interference as major challenges that could threaten the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, raised the concerns on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, in Abuja when he received a Pre-Election Assessment Mission (PEAM) delegation of the International Republican Institute (IRI), led by former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Jendayi Frazier.
Amupitan warned that the challenges could undermine voter confidence and pose significant threats to the electoral process if not effectively addressed.
“Security risks, localised electoral violence, vote-buying, and the rapid proliferation of hate speech, disinformation, and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, FIMI, pose direct threats to voter confidence,” he said.
The warning came three days after the Osun State governorship election and a day before the statutory commencement of public campaigns and rallies for the 2027 general elections.
The INEC chairman said the IRI assessment mission provided an independent perspective at a crucial stage of the commission’s transition into full-scale preparations for the 2027 elections.
He disclosed that INEC was scaling up its operational capacity to deploy approximately 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide during the elections.
Amupitan also said the commission was deploying the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) under the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) framework to detect and eliminate duplicate entries and maintain a clean and verified National Register of Voters.
According to him, recent off-cycle governorship elections and legislative by-elections have provided INEC with opportunities to test its field logistics, security coordination and technological systems ahead of the 2027 polls.
He said the deployment of technology had significantly reduced vulnerabilities associated with Nigeria’s previous voting processes, particularly through the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
“The performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, for dual biometric verification and the real-time public display of Polling Unit result sheets, Form EC8A, on the INEC Result Viewing, IReV, portal continues to demonstrate high operational reliability, achieving upload rates above 98 per cent in recent off-cycle contests,” he said.
The commission, Amupitan added, would also conduct voter register audits, strengthen early deployment arrangements and work with transport unions to ensure polling units open by 8:30 a.m.
He said INEC was equally improving assistive devices and arrangements for persons with disabilities, pregnant women and elderly voters to promote greater inclusion in the electoral process.
On security and financial threats, the INEC chairman said the commission was working with security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), as well as anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
He said the collaboration was aimed at enforcing campaign finance regulations, monitoring electoral offences and ensuring that offenders were prosecuted.
Amupitan further disclosed that INEC would join presidential candidates later on Tuesday for the signing of the National Peace Committee’s Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns, designed to promote civility and issue-based engagement among political actors.
Reaffirming the commission’s neutrality, the INEC chairman assured the international delegation of INEC’s transparency and cooperation throughout the electoral process.
“As an electoral management body, our sole mandate is to serve as an uncompromising, impartial umpire dedicated to delivering a free, fair, credible, transparent, and inclusive election that reflects the sovereign will of the Nigerian people,” he said.
