Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it would roll out a first-of-its-kind, real-time readiness tracker that would allow the Commission to monitor election preparations across all 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) instantly.
Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this yesterday while declaring open a two-day Strategic Operational Workshop for Administrative Secretaries, held at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
He said the workshop would produce a standardised, Excel-based Administrative Secretary Master Operational Tracker Template, linked directly to the Commission’s Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC) dashboard and the Election Project Plan (EPP).
The chairman noted that the Commission had historically lacked a dedicated, uniform mechanism for tracking the operational duties of Administrative Secretaries, describing the new tool as one that would bridge that institutional gap.
Amupitan added: “Once deployed, the tracker will give Resident Electoral Commissioners, Supervising National Commissioners, the Secretary to the Commission and Headquarters instant visibility into material distribution, ad-hoc staff training and State-level readiness.”
He stressed that it would replace what he called “reactive panic with proactive management.”
The INEC Chairman said the innovation would also outlive the 2027 exercise, serving as a permanent onboarding blueprint for future generations of Administrative Secretaries.
He linked the initiative to the Commission’s drive to keep the voter register clean and PVC collection seamless as enrolment closes in on 100 million.
Amupitan described Continuous Voter Registration as one of five operational pillars under review at the workshop, alongside logistics and material management, electoral technology, ad-hoc staff optimisation, and financial compliance.
He stressed that the tracker initiative built on lessons drawn from recent off-cycle elections, including the Osun State governorship election, where disciplined logistics and functioning technology delivered a transparent outcome.
Amupitan added that the Commission was now working to replicate that standard nationally, in the six-month window remaining before the 2027 general election.
Earlier, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Lagos State, Prof. Ayobami Salami, described the workshop as coming at an auspicious time in the Commission’s preparations.
He commended the European Union, through the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN), implemented with Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), for supporting the exercise.
Also speaking, Secretary to the Commission, Mrs Rose Oriaran-Anthony, said the workshop would ensure Headquarters and all States operate from the same Election Project Plan, while equipping Administrative Secretaries with updated knowledge of new policies, technology and administrative procedures ahead of 2027.