The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has assured Nigerians and political parties that the commission will remain neutral in the 2027 general elections and will not favour any candidate or political platform.

Amupitan gave the assurance on Tuesday in Abuja at the formal signing of the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns, organised by the National Peace Committee in partnership with The Kukah Centre.

The event was held a day before the official commencement of campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections.

“Let me state unequivocally that INEC has no interest in who wins or loses any election. The Commission does not have a candidate, nor does it favour any political platform. Our only interest is a lawful, transparent, credible, and inclusive process,” he said.

He pledged that INEC would act as an “uncompromising, impartial umpire” to ensure a level playing field for all contestants.

The INEC chairman urged political parties and candidates to focus their campaigns on issues affecting Nigerians instead of personal attacks, character assassination and inflammatory rhetoric.

He said the timing of the Peace Accord provided an opportunity to set the ethical boundaries of the contest before campaigns begin on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

Describing elections as “competitive job interviews before the electorate,” Amupitan said Nigerians deserved substantive debates on economic growth, national security, infrastructure, healthcare, education and social inclusion.

He called on candidates to present clear and measurable programmes on these issues.

He also warned against the spread of misinformation and disinformation by political parties, their digital media teams and online supporters.

According to him, unverified and premature declarations of results could trigger panic and undermine public confidence in the electoral process.

Amupitan further cautioned against incitement, identity-based provocation and the use of private armed groups, saying such actions could compromise the integrity of the elections even before voting day.

On preparations, the INEC chairman said the commission was scaling up logistics to manage about 1.4 million ad hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide.

He added that INEC had spent the last eight months refining its technology, improving logistics and training personnel, drawing lessons from recent elections in Anambra, the FCT, Ekiti and Osun.

Amupitan stressed that credible elections require the input of all stakeholders.

“As I have often said, INEC cannot deliver a perfect election alone. An election is a multi-stakeholder venture. We provide the pitch and the refereeing, but the quality of the game depends on the players,” he stated.

He also disclosed that further transparency measures were being introduced in the result-management process for 2027.

The INEC boss called on political actors to compete vigorously but peacefully.

“Peace is not the absence of competition; it is the presence of rules and the willingness to abide by them. Let us compete vigorously, but let us compete decently. Let us remember that at the end of this exercise, there will be no winners if Nigeria is the loser,” he said. (Nigerian Tribune)

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