The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that it will make some adjustments and issue a revised timetable for the 2027 general election in line with the Electoral Act 2026.

It said that the notice of the 2027 elections released recently was issued under the old law.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, made this known on Wednesday in Abuja at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and swearing in of the new REC, Dr. Chukwu Chukwu-Emeka Joseph, representing Abia State.

He stated: “I must not fail to inform you that we now have a new Electoral Act, 2026. We had on 13th February, 2026 issued a Notice of Election before the new Act was enacted.

“The Notice was issued under the old law. With the introduction of the new Electoral Act, we have to make some adjustments and issue a revised timetable for the 2027 general election.”

The chairman disclosed that the commission was reviewing its transport logistics model for effective performance ahead of the 2027 elections.

The decision, it said, became imperative after its Election Operations Dashboard during the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Councils election showed that only 45 per cent of polling units opened by 8:30 am.

The electoral umpire also revealed that it has identified some of the staff in Kuje Area Council and Kabusa Ward in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) that caused logistic delay and will be queried.

It added that the transporter that caused some delay in Kwali Area Council would also be blacklisted.

He noted that the recently conducted FCT Area Council election and the state constituencies elections in Kano and Rivers States once again provided them with lessons, some reassuring, others sobering.

The chairman stressed that one of the issues that generated public commentary relates to the so-called ‘voter migration’ in the FCT.

He reiterated that no voter has migrated in 2026, saying the expansion of voters’ access to polling units initiative was implemented in 2022.

Amupitan explained that nationwide, over 56,000 additional polling units were created, increasing the total from 119,972 to over 176,000.

According to him, “In order to populate the newly created units, many of which initially had zero registered voters, about 6.7 million voters were redistributed from approximately 12,000 congested polling units to new 17,000 less congested ones across the country in 2022.”

He said in the FCT alone, 411 polling units were decongested, and about 580,000 voters were redistributed to 1,156 polling units.

The chairman said the commission discovered that a few of the voters complained that their polling units were migrated in 2022, but they had difficulty in locating the new ones.

He noted that it was based on this that he directed that, for the benefit of those who did not vote in the 2023 general election and whose polling units were migrated in 2022, a fresh text message be sent to all those affected as a refresher to ensure that everyone willing to vote would locate their polling units with ease.

The chairman pointed out that despite widespread publicity, display of the register of voters and the deployment of text messages and emails to affected voters in the days preceding the election, some voters still experienced difficulties locating their polling units.

He stated: “This tells us something important. Our policies may be sound. Our intentions may be noble. But if citizens do not understand our processes, then the objective is only half achieved.

“I, therefore, direct all Resident Electoral Commissioners to intensify voter education and sensitisation in your respective states. Voter awareness must not be episodic. It must be continuous.”

Amupitan said another area that requires frank discussion was logistics and punctuality.

His words: “According to our Election Operations Dashboard, only 45 per cent of polling units in the FCT opened by 8:30 am. Although we achieved 100 per cent by 10:00 am, the initial delay is unacceptable.

“We have identified some of the staff in Kuje Area Council and Kabusa Ward in the Municipal that caused logistic delay and I have directed that they should be queried.

“In addition, the transporter that caused some delay in Kwali Area Council will be blacklisted. We are still reviewing our transport logistics model for effective performance. On the whole, voting took place in all the polling units despite the initial delay and the election was successfully concluded in all the polling units.

“We commend the generally peaceful conduct of the FCT election in all the polling units and in Kano and Rivers State constituencies. No violence was recorded during the voting exercise. We commend the security agencies for this feat.

“However, we must admit the ugly incident that occurred in Kuje Area Council, where the Kuje Central Collation Centre was invaded by thugs during collation and also at another collation centre in Kwali Area Council.

“The ugly incident was squarely addressed, and the results were finally collated without much ado. You must continue to strengthen our engagement with security agencies and stakeholders in your state. Elections must be peaceful, not by accident, but by deliberate planning and coordination.”

The chairman highlighted the improvement in the commission’s result management system.

He said the commission has identified that the greatest threat to the electoral process is not even the voting at the polling units but the actual collation of the results at several levels.

Amupitan noted: “We have introduced some safeguards to the BVAS system which is to curb all manner of manipulation on the results that will be transmitted to IREV.

“The presiding officer is required to- (i) capture and upload an image of the completed Form EC8A to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV); and also enter the scores of each political party directly into the BVAS device.

“The BVAS system performs internal validation checks to ensure: The total votes entered do not exceed the number of accredited voters. The figures entered are mathematically consistent. Over-voting is automatically flagged and cannot be finalised.

“This was tested during the FCT Area Council election and the Kano and Rivers States Constituencies elections. The results of the election were uploaded to IREV and were found to be correct. As we speak, an average of 97 per cent of the results have been uploaded to IREV for the FCT Area Council election. We will soon embark on the review of our regulations and guidelines for the 2027 election.

“Despite the above safeguards, we received complaints of result manipulation after the FCT Area Council election, especially the Kuroko Health Centre polling unit in Yangoji Ward, Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which was alleged to have recorded 1,219 votes for a political party, despite having only 345 registered voters and 213 accredited voters during the Saturday Area Council election in the FCT.

“This result went so viral, and I must confess, I received several phone calls and media concerns on it. I immediately summoned the FCT Supervisory Commissioner, the FCT REC and the FCT Administrative Secretary and requested an investigation.

“After due investigation, it was found that discrepancies in the reported result were due to an error by the presiding officer while entering the score of the party.

“After sorting and counting the ballots, she recorded 122 for APC. On tallying everything, she noticed that there was an overshoot by one (1). So they had to recount the ballots in the open, that was when she realised that APC should be 121 not 122. So she cancelled the ‘2’ at the end and slotted in a ‘1’ in front of the cancelled ‘2’ to make it 121.

“She also corrected the figures in words. It was the correct and accurate result that was subsequently duly entered into the collation form EC8B at the ward collation. The outcome of the investigation necessitated the FCT REC to issue a press release on that incident and a few other cases where there were alterations.”

Amupitan said while there is no perfect election, Nigerians are looking to the commission with heightened anticipation and scrutiny, emphasizing that there is no room for error or excuse in this crucial process.

He further said that reports of absenteeism and dereliction of duty, especially at the local government offices, have reached the commission.

The chairman stated categorically that the commission would no longer tolerate indiscipline, adding that any staff who fails to report for duty, arrives late without justification, or otherwise sabotages the process would face sanctions in accordance with the commission’s regulations.

He said the road ahead is demanding, stressing that the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States would further test INEC’s preparations.

Amupitan noted that beyond them lies the 2027 general election, which would be even more complex in scale and logistics, saying they must approach these tasks with humility and resolve.

He maintained that the credibility of the commission is built not on declarations, but on performance, adding that each polling unit that opens late erodes trust, while each staff member who neglects duty diminishes their collective reputation.

Conversely, the chairman said each transparent upload to IReV, each peaceful polling environment, and each satisfied voter would strengthen Nigeria’s democracy.

The commission said it would soon embark on a thorough clean-up with a view to further sanitising and strengthening the integrity of the register ahead of the 2027 general election. (THISDAY)

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