The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has uncovered an alleged plot targeting its ad hoc personnel, including members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed this during a stakeholder meeting in Enugu, saying intelligence provided by the Department of State Services (DSS) helped identify and arrest suspects allegedly connected to the plot.
Amupitan said the commission would prosecute the suspects, adding that it was strengthening security arrangements to protect electoral officials before, during and after the elections.
He also announced plans to organise a security conference to address threats to the electoral process and improve coordination among relevant agencies.
On electoral transparency, the INEC chairman said the commission was refining its result management systems, including the newly introduced eEC8A electronic verification platform, to strengthen the verification of election results.
He said the measures were intended to improve transparency from polling units to the national collation centre, while the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) would continue to support public access to election results.
Amupitan also directed the commission to review Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) records in the South-East and address challenges affecting the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
He said the commission’s priority was to ensure that eligible voters who had completed registration were not disenfranchised by administrative or logistical difficulties.
According to him, INEC conducted three phases of voter registration in line with Section 10 of the Electoral Act 2026.
The first phase, held from August 25 to December 10, 2025, recorded 2,611,266 new registrants, while the second phase, conducted between January 5 and April 17, 2026, recorded 4,121,835.
The third phase, which ran from May 11 to July 26, 2026, recorded another 3,867,997 registrants, bringing the provisional total to 10,772,421, subject to final biometric deduplication checks.
The INEC chairman said the commission introduced an online registration portal during the third phase to reduce barriers associated with distance and time. He added that the commission had activated printable PVC technology to make voter card collection more convenient.
Amupitan described his visit to Enugu as significant, noting that it was the first visit by an INEC chairman to the commission’s Enugu office since 1999.
He said the visit was part of efforts to engage directly with electoral officials and assess operational challenges ahead of the 2027 elections.
The chairman reminded staff that the elections would involve more than 103 million registered voters and 176,846 polling units across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the presidential and National Assembly elections were scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections were scheduled for February 6, 2027.
Amupitan commended INEC personnel for their roles in conducting off-cycle governorship elections in Anambra and Ekiti states, elections in the Federal Capital Territory Area Councils, and 16 federal and state bye-elections.
However, he identified declining public trust, voter apathy, misinformation and disinformation as major challenges facing the commission.
He warned that fabricated reports, unverified rumours and deepfake videos could undermine public confidence in the electoral process if not addressed promptly.
According to him, INEC’s response would focus on proactive transparency, timely official communication and operational precision at polling units.
On election security, Amupitan said the commission had strengthened its partnership with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), working with security agencies at national and state levels to develop intelligence-led security arrangements.
He also cautioned electoral personnel against partisan conduct, stressing the need for neutrality among electoral officers and participating security officials.
On staff welfare, the INEC chairman disclosed that the commission had established the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS) and was at an advanced stage of implementing a new salary and welfare package for its staff, commission members and resident electoral commissioners.
He added that monthly overhead allocations to state offices had been increased by 150 per cent, effective July 1, 2026.
Amupitan expressed confidence in the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, urging staff to remain committed to delivering a credible electoral process.
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