INEC has no preferred candidate for 2027, chairman Amupitan tells ECOWAS
- INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan told an ECOWAS mission in Abuja that the commission has no favoured candidate or party for 2027.
- He said Nigeria's voter register has passed 103 million and nine of 14 timetable milestones are done.
- ECOWAS, led by former Sierra Leone vice-president Victor Foh, is assessing Nigeria's election readiness.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has no preferred candidate or political party going into the 2027 general elections, and that its loyalty is to voters and the law.
INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan said this on Friday in Abuja while receiving a pre-election fact-finding team from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The team was led by Victor Bockarie Foh, a former Vice-President of Sierra Leone.
"INEC under my watch has no candidate and no political party," Amupitan said. He said the commission's allegiance was to the rule of law, the will of Nigerian voters and the country's democratic progress.
For ordinary Nigerians, the promise matters because trust in the umpire often decides whether people bother to register, queue and vote. Claims of a favoured party have dogged past elections, and the commission is now trying to get ahead of such talk before campaigns heat up.
What INEC says is ready
Amupitan said the national voter register has now passed 103 million people. He also said the commission has finished nine of the 14 major statutory steps in its revised timetable for the elections.
According to him, three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise are done, and the preliminary voter register has been displayed nationwide for Nigerians to check their details.
He said voting will take place in 774 local government areas and 8,809 registration areas. Sahara Reporters quoted him putting the number of polling units at 176,846.
On technology, Amupitan said INEC will use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to confirm voters by fingerprint and face. Results will pass through electronic systems, including a new eEC8A verification platform and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), where Nigerians can see polling unit results.
He said the commission is working with security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to protect voters and officials during the polls.
Amupitan also asked ECOWAS to send long-term and short-term observers, share technical know-how and help with emerging problems such as false information and voter education.
Why ECOWAS is in Nigeria
Foh said the visit is part of the regional body's routine checks on member states heading into general elections. He said it follows the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework.
The team includes Serigne Mamadou Ka, head of the ECOWAS Electoral Assistance Division. Foh said the mission will not look at INEC alone but will also meet party leaders, government officials, civil society groups and security agencies.
Amupitan described 2027 as a major test for Nigeria since the return to civilian rule in 1999, with effects for democratic stability across West Africa.
What happens next: INEC continues its zonal readiness checks and the remaining steps in its timetable, while the ECOWAS team widens its consultations with parties and other stakeholders ahead of the 2027 polls.
