By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA — With 114 days to the January 16, 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it has made significant progress in implementing its timetable for the polls, even as experts identified funding, communication and public trust as areas requiring sustained attention.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Thursday at a Democracy and Governance Forum organised by West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR) in Abuja under its “Voices for Democracy and Freedoms in West Africa” initiative.
The commission’s Director of Planning and Monitoring, Mrs Helen Ajayi, represented the INEC chairman at the forum and presented a paper titled, “INEC Preparedness for 2027 General Elections.”
She said the commission’s timetable had been translated into a coordinated programme across its departments and directorates, state offices, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas.
According to her, some activities had been completed, others were ongoing, while those scheduled for later implementation were yet to commence.
On voter registration, Ajayi said the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and the display of the preliminary register for claims and objections had been concluded.
She added that the generation of the PDF register for nationwide display and synchronisation of CVR data were ongoing, while preparations for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were also underway.
She said the public would be informed when the PVCs were ready for collection.
On logistics, Ajayi disclosed that procurement and delivery of non-sensitive electoral materials to state offices had commenced, saying the early deployment would provide sufficient time for distribution ahead of election day.
She also said INEC had conducted various training programmes for personnel, with Grade Level 8 to 16 staff at the state level trained in preparation for the elections.
On voter education, Ajayi said the commission was preparing an intensified public enlightenment campaign covering voting procedures, accreditation, the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), election-day procedures and PVC collection.
She said the campaign would pay particular attention to women, young people, persons with disabilities and citizens in hard-to-reach communities.
Ajayi said improvements in BVAS and the deployment of the EC8A result form were aimed at strengthening end-to-end result visibility and reducing opportunities for manual interference.
She also disclosed that INEC had commenced nationwide zonal readiness assessments and staff engagements across the six geopolitical zones.
According to her, the exercise began in Lagos with the South-West zone from September 7 to 9, with the commission scheduled to proceed to the North-West zone, hosted by Kaduna State.
She said the assessments were intended to evaluate preparedness at state and local government levels, identify operational gaps and emerging risks, and engage Resident Electoral Commissioners, Administrative Secretaries, Electoral Officers and other frontline personnel.
Experts Flag Funding, Trust Gaps
Delivering the keynote address, a board member of WADR, Dr Abubakar Muhammad Kudu, said despite the progress recorded by INEC, gaps remained in funding, communication and public trust.
He said INEC must continuously educate voters, communicate effectively with stakeholders and strengthen public confidence through transparency.
Kudu also raised concerns over provisions of the Electoral Act relating to ballot authenticity and the integrity of election officials.
He described BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal as critical to younger Nigerians, saying the technologies had become important elements of the electoral process.
He urged the incoming leadership of the commission to maintain neutrality, ensure funds were released down the implementation chain and strengthen communication with stakeholders.
Kudu also urged the media to remain conflict-sensitive, fact-check information and guard against artificial intelligence-driven disinformation and deepfakes.
He told political actors that they “cannot love democracy and hate accountability.”
On the panel that followed, pro-democracy activist, Mrs Ene Obi, urged Nigerians to participate in the 2027 elections and exercise their franchise.
Public policy analyst, Mr Jide Ojo, and veteran journalist, Mr Topsy Gimba, urged the media to hold political actors accountable to the electorate.
WADR Seeks Responsible Reporting
Earlier, WADR Managing Director, Agnes John-Thomasi, said the Abuja forum was part of a project supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), titled “Voices for Democracy and Freedoms in West Africa.”
She said the initiative was designed to respond to pressures on democratic resilience in the region, including shrinking civic space, disinformation and weaknesses in accountability.
John-Thomasi said Nigeria was one of four countries targeted by the project, alongside The Gambia, Benin and Togo, describing Nigeria as critical to the initiative because of its approaching elections.
She urged the media to maintain professional standards, respect the ethics of the profession and report impartially throughout the electoral process.
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