The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has assured Nigerians that there will be no predetermined results in the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan said the commission remained committed to conducting transparent, free, fair and credible elections while working with security agencies to address threats that could prevent Nigerians from exercising their right to vote.
He spoke during a panel session at the sixth Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers in Owerri, Imo State, themed, “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections.”
According to the statement issued by INEC’s Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser, Adedayo Oketola, Amupitan identified insecurity as one of the major concerns ahead of the 2027 elections.
“There are still some states in Nigeria that have a lot of insecurities around, and it’s a major source of concern for us. Because that can be a source of disenfranchisement of Nigerians, and we don’t want any Nigerian to be disenfranchised,” he said.
The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission was working with the Nigeria Police Force to identify and arrest perpetrators of pre-election violence, particularly in areas affected by insecurity.
He said the police, as the lead agency responsible for election security, was working with INEC to develop strategies for conducting elections in volatile areas.
Amupitan also urged political parties and candidates to focus their campaigns on issues rather than personal attacks, expressing concern over what he described as the growing culture of personality-based politics and intolerance.
“Election should be based on issues and not campaign of calumny and denigration,” he said.
On electoral offences, he said INEC was working with law enforcement agencies to ensure that individuals found culpable under the Electoral Act were arrested, investigated and prosecuted.
The INEC chairman said the commission was also strengthening its intelligence-gathering capacity to tackle vote-buying, noting that such activities were increasingly being organised outside polling units.
“These things are done and planned before the election. And most of the issues of vote buying now, you don’t even see them at the polling units. They are done outside of the polling units. So we need to activate intelligence,” he said.
Amupitan disclosed that INEC was working towards establishing a joint task force involving the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Attorney-General’s office and other security agencies to address electoral offences.
He noted that INEC did not have powers of arrest or investigation, making collaboration with law enforcement agencies necessary.
On disputes arising from political party primaries, Amupitan said pending litigation would not stop the 2027 elections, stressing that such matters were for the courts to determine.
He said the Electoral Act provided for the resolution of primary-related disputes through the judicial process up to the final appellate level.
According to him, elections were contested by political parties rather than individual candidates, meaning that ongoing litigation would not prevent parties from participating in the polls.
“Whichever decision that comes out with at the end of the day, INEC will abide by it,” he said.
Amupitan also said the commission remained responsible for effective logistics and result management and would continue to address shortcomings identified in previous elections.
He added that recommendations from the Owerri retreat would be presented to the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), which includes INEC, the Inspector-General of Police, the Office of the National Security Adviser and other relevant security agencies.
Speaking on INEC’s preparations, Amupitan said recent off-cycle elections had provided useful lessons for the 2027 general elections.
He cited the Anambra, FCT and Osun elections among recent polls, saying lessons from each exercise had been used to improve subsequent elections.
INEC has already published its timetable for the 2027 general elections, with the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for February 20, 2027, and the governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for March 6, 2027.
Amupitan reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to ensuring that Nigerians have confidence in the electoral process.
“Just like some people were saying, oh, Osun is going to be this, Osun is going to be that, Osun is going to bring down the country. But we did everything possible, because what Nigerians are waiting for is just to be sure that the election is transparent,” he said.
He reiterated that INEC would work with relevant institutions to deliver a credible and inclusive 2027 electoral process.
