Nigeria’s electoral commission has banned staff from taking annual leave as it steps up preparations for the country’s upcoming general election.
The head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan, issued the directive during a regional meeting in Lokoja, Kogi State.More than 103 million voters are expected to cast their ballots across 176,846 polling units nationwide.
The presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for 16 January 2027, with governorship and state assembly polls following on 6 February.
Addressing senior officials and field staff, Prof Amupitan warned that partisanship, negligence, financial misconduct, and absenteeism would attract strict sanctions.”The approaching elections require heightened administrative discipline, operational efficiency and absolute commitment from every member of staff,” he said.
Welfare and tech reforms
The announcement coincides with a new pay structure for the commission, aimed at boosting staff morale and operational efficiency.
Key measures include:
Salary upgrades: A move away from standard civil service pay rates to a dedicated salary scale, alongside higher hazard and field allowances.
Funding & vehicles: A 150% increase in monthly operational funding for state offices, alongside the distribution of new pick-up trucks and SUVs for regional administrators.
Tech upgrades: The configuration of 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices to speed up verification, alongside audits of electronic result transmission platforms.
Prof Amupitan stressed that technological investments alone would not guarantee success if administrative standards failed.”Administrative lapses could undermine public confidence even where the necessary technology is available,” he warned.
Security and misinformation threats
To protect election workers and voters, INEC is rolling out an expanded security model under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). The initiative will coordinate military, police, and paramilitary agencies down to the local district level.Prof Amupitan issued a strong warning against political violence, noting that anyone attempting to intimidate or harm electoral staff would face prosecution.He also highlighted false narratives, fabricated media content, and AI-generated deepfakes as major threats to the election’s integrity, arguing that transparent administration and punctual opening of polling stations were the best defenses against misinformation.
The Lokoja gathering marked the end of a series of regional readiness assessments across Nigeria. The North-Central zone—comprising six states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja—accounts for over 15.4 million registered voters.INEC says it has completed nine of its 14 key statutory milestones ahead of the 2027 vote.
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