The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has warned the commission’s staff against partisanship, negligence, financial impropriety and absenteeism ahead of next year’s general elections.

He cautioned that indulging in them would attract swift sanctions, in line with Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates a formal Oath of Neutrality, charging them to remain neutral and disciplined.

The electoral umpire’s boss issued the warning in Lokoja, Kogi State, at the North-Central Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 General Election, which brought the tour across the country to an end.

The meeting brought together National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the zone, Directors from the national headquarters, Administrative Secretaries, Heads of Department and Electoral Officers.

According to him: “You are the human bridge translating the Electoral Act 2026 into democratic reality. Know the law, understand your responsibility, maintain absolute neutrality, document every action, and protect the integrity of the ballot.”

Commenting further on staff welfare, the Chairman said the commission was at an advanced stage of implementing the newly approved Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS).

He added that the commission had approved enhanced salary, hazard and field allowances, alongside a 150 per cent increase in monthly overheads to state offices, effective July 1, 2026.

Speaking on logistics, he said that operational pick-up vehicles had been distributed to state and Local Government Area offices, adding that 20 Sports Utility Vehicles had been procured for RECs, while Administrative Secretaries would also receive new vehicles.

On technology, Prof. Amupitan said the commission was configuring Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, including 57,000 newly procured units. He said electronic result management systems were being audited to ensure the transparent transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

He said Printable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and a digital PVC Location Portal had been activated, and that the preliminary register of voters had been published for public display. The certified Register of Voters will be published on December 15, 2026.

The commission’s boss further explained that the North-Central engagement was the strategic culmination of similar assessments already held in the South-West, North-West, South-East, North-East and South-South.

According to him, the tour was intended to identify operational weaknesses before election day, ensure that local challenges were reflected in national planning and prevent voters from being disenfranchised through administrative or logistical failures.

The Chairman said the remaining preparations required increased attention as the election dates approached. He directed that no staff of the commission should proceed on annual leave until after the elections.

He said the 2027 General Election would involve more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units. The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.

Amupitan said the commission’s conduct of governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun, the FCT Area Council elections and 16 by-elections had served as test grounds for the general election. (The Sun)