By Segun Ojumu
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pledged to address persistent operational weaknesses and maintain strict political neutrality ahead of the country’s 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Monday in Kaduna during an assessment tour of the North-West zone, INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, warned staff against administrative negligence, stressing that public trust in the upcoming polls rests heavily on the professionalism of field officers.
The engagement forms part of a nationwide tour across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones designed to evaluate field operations and resolve logistics challenges well before election day.
Direct Engagement with Field Staff
The Supervising National Commissioner for Kaduna, Mohammed Haruna, noted that the zonal meetings were specifically designed to allow top leadership to engage directly with local staff across the country despite tight schedules leading up to 2027. Mr. Haruna revealed that the Kaduna visit opened with a courtesy call to the Emir of Zazzau, traditional ruler of the area, to brief him on election preparations and seek the support of traditional institutions in encouraging citizens to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). He expressed confidence that the direct feedback gathered from field staff across the North-West would significantly strengthen election administration.
Grassroots Operations and Logistics Strategy
Addressing personnel, Professor Amupitan stressed that election credibility is ultimately determined at local polling stations rather than headquarters.”The true success of any election is not decided solely in the meeting rooms of our headquarters in Abuja. It is decided in the field,” Amupitan told staff.
The commission disclosed that three phases of its voter registration exercise have generated more than 10.7 million new applications, currently undergoing biometric verification. INEC confirmed that PVC distribution will begin on October 9, with Professor Amupitan demanding an end to local distribution bottlenecks.
To safeguard the 2027 polls, the commission is pursuing a “Zero-Failure” operational model focusing on: technology upgrades: refining voter verification systems and digital result transmission, including the eEC8A result management portal, logistics & security: Streamlining early deployment of sensitive election materials and strengthening security coordination and personnel readiness: Enforcing strict adherence to the staff Code of Conduct and upgrading ad-hoc staff training.
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