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•Projects over 100m voters, warns misinformation threatens poll
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) plans to deploy about 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units for the 2027 general elections as the commission begins preparations for what it described as an unprecedented logistical operation.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja while receiving the Pre-Election Assessment Mission (PEAM) delegation of the International Republican Institute (IRI). Amupitan said the commission was scaling up its administrative and logistical capacity ahead of the elections, which are expected to involve more than 100 million registered voters.
He said the recently concluded Osun governorship election and other off-cycle polls had provided the commission with operational tests for its technology, logistics and security arrangements ahead of the national elections.
According to him, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the electronic display of polling unit results through the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal had recorded more than 98 per cent upload rates in recent off-cycle elections.
“Technology has permanently closed the door on legacy voting vulnerabilities, ensuring that the ballot box alone determines electoral outcomes.”
Amupitan said INEC’s preparations for 2027 included the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and audit of the voters’ register, using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to identify and eliminate duplicate records.
The commission is also expanding early deployment of election materials and strengthening collaboration with transport unions to ensure polling units open on schedule.
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Amupitan said INEC was equally improving access to polling units and providing specialised assistive devices for persons with disabilities, pregnant women, nursing mothers and elderly voters.
However, as the commission expands its operational preparations, its officials warned that misinformation and disinformation could pose a major threat to public confidence in the 2027 elections.
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, said the commission would need sustained public engagement to counter false information and improve understanding of the electoral process.
“You build public trust, simplify complex procedures, and ensure that no eligible citizen is left behind,” Oketola said.
He warned that the communication environment ahead of 2027 could be exploited to spread misinformation, undermine confidence in electoral technology and fuel voter apathy. “The antidote to disinformation is proactive, factual, and continuous public engagement.”
Oketola said INEC’s communication strategy must move beyond conventional announcements to sustained civic education capable of explaining the operation of technologies such as BVAS and IReV to voters.
“Our messaging must move beyond traditional announcement-style publicity into aggressive, daily civic education that demystifies our technology, such as the BVAS and IReV, and reinforces the integrity of the open secret ballot system.”
Amupitan said the IRI pre-election assessment would provide an independent perspective on INEC’s operational environment and help identify areas requiring further improvement before the commission moves into full-scale preparations for the 2027 elections.
