By Celestine Okafor (Editor-in-chief)
Ahead of 2027 general elections, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has warned that anyone who threatens, intimidates or harms the Commission's ad-hoc staff, members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) or permanent personnel will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law.
Prof. Amupitan gave the warning on Saturday October 31, 2026, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Amupitan said, "Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger. Let me again send a clear message from Port Harcourt: anyone who attempts to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law," he said.
The Chairman, who was accompanied by National Commissioners, Directors and Technical Aides, said the South-South meeting was the fifth in the series of zonal assessments, following those held in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East.
He said his physical presence at each zone reflected the Commission's field-first approach, noting that "true electoral integrity is forged in the field", across the 123 Local Government Areas of the six South-South states.
On election security, Prof. Amupitan said the Commission had changed its approach from reactive, election-day deployments to an early, intelligence-led arrangement.
"We have moved away from reactive, election-day security deployments toward a proactive, intelligence-led security architecture that we term the 'ICCES Tentacle.' This framework extends inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters directly down to the most remote Local Government Areas and Registration Area Centres," he said.
He identified three non-negotiable pillars of the framework: mapping and mitigating threats, ensuring safety, and guaranteeing access to polling units.
Explaining the second and third pillars, he said the arrangement would provide "a comprehensive protective umbrella over all electoral personnel, technological assets including BVAS devices and server infrastructure, and most importantly, the Nigerian voter." It would also ensure that every polling unit, "regardless of geographical remoteness or historical security challenges", remained "a safe, peaceful, and dignified sanctuary for the exercise of democratic rights."
The Chairman disclosed that the South-South arrangement relies on approximately 60 major operational formations, headquarters and state commands operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). The network brings together military, naval, air, police and other security and intelligence agencies across the six states of the zone.
"Together, this integrated multi-agency network represents the operational backbone that guarantees intelligence-led protection across every riverine creek, coastal axis, and land-based polling unit in the Niger Delta," he said.
Prof. Amupitan said the South-South accounts for the fourth largest voting bloc in the country, with 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of the national register. Rivers State alone has 3,736,434 registered voters across 23 Local Government Areas.
He said these figures represented "living citizens whose constitutional right to choose their leaders in a secure, transparent environment must be guaranteed without compromise."
Giving an update on preparations, the Chairman said the Commission had executed nine of the 14 major statutory milestones in the timetable for the 2027 General Election, which will involve over 103 million registered voters and 176,846 polling units. The Presidential and National Assembly Elections hold on 16 January 2027, while the Governorship and State Assembly Elections are scheduled for 6 February 2027.
He noted that the Commission had finalised a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime Transporters Union to ensure the timely and secure deployment of personnel and materials to riverine and coastal communities. He added that new operational pick-up vehicles had been distributed to State and LGA offices nationwide.
On staff welfare, he said the Commission had pulled its workforce out of the civil service salary structure under the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure, effective 1 January 2026, and approved a 150 per cent increase in monthly state overhead allocations, effective 1 July 2026.
"To our field staff: you are the true face of INEC," he told the participants.
The Chairman also drew attention to the role of electoral personnel in protecting the credibility of the election. He said late opening of polling units, staff irritability and unresolved technical glitches could fuel disinformation and undermine public trust.
"False narratives only gain traction when administrative execution falters," he said, adding: "When our field execution is flawless, and our data pipeline is clear, no digital algorithm can displace the physical reality of a transparent vote."
Prof. Amupitan further warned that "partisan leaning, negligence, financial impropriety, or absenteeism will meet swift, decisive sanctions." He reminded staff that Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026 mandates an Oath of Neutrality and urged them to be guided in every decision by one question: "What does the law and our guidelines require me to do?"
In his welcome address, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Rivers State, Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, said the engagement provided an opportunity for the Commission to evaluate its level of preparedness, identify operational gaps and develop practical strategies to address them before Election Day.
"This is not merely an occasion to report activities undertaken. It is an opportunity to demonstrate readiness, identify outstanding tasks, establish clear priorities, and strengthen the mechanisms for monitoring implementation," he said.
Dr. Sinikiem said the successful conduct of the General Election would require deliberate planning, adequate resources, technological preparedness, competent personnel and effective stakeholder engagement.
"The credibility of an election is determined not only by what happens on Election Day but also by the quality of preparations undertaken well in advance," he said.
He called for stronger collaboration between the Commission's headquarters and state offices, and urged staff to remain vigilant against misinformation and disinformation.
"The Nigerian public expects the Commission to conduct elections that reflect the will of the electorate and command public confidence. Meeting these expectations requires every member of staff to understand and faithfully discharge their responsibilities," he said.
The Director, Planning and Monitoring, Mrs. Helen Ajayi, outlined the key objectives of the meeting, which include securing the support of traditional rulers for grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 General Election, boosting staff morale through improved welfare initiatives, and assessing the level of electoral preparedness across the states.
She explained that state preparedness would be assessed through situation reports covering election security, staff training, voter education and stakeholder engagement, and that the engagement would help identify operational and logistical challenges that could affect the smooth conduct of the election.
Mrs. Ajayi said departmental presentations would cover voter registration and PVC collection, ICT deployment and management, human resource preparations, electoral operations, and the activities of the Public Relations and Monitoring Department, particularly Electoral Risk Management and the tracking of the Commission's activities.
She also called for cooperation between state and local government staff to ensure effective monitoring, identify potential electoral risk areas and address operational gaps ahead of the elections.
INEC TO END LATE ARRIVAL OF ELECTION MATERIALS, LOWERS BVAS THRESHOLD AS CHAIRMAN ENLISTS RIVERS ROYAL FATHERS FOR 2027
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, has assured Nigerians that the delays that marred the delivery of election materials in previous elections will not be repeated in the 2027 General Election.
Prof. Amupitan gave the assurance on Friday 30th October, 2026, during a courtesy visit to the palace of the King and Paramount Ruler of Port Harcourt, His Royal Majesty, Barr. Uchechukwu Isaiah Elikwu, Eze Epara Rebisi XII, in Rivers State.
He said the Commission was taking steps to ensure the timely delivery of materials to polling units across the country.
“The era of the past, when elections were supposed to start by 8:30am but materials sometimes arrived very late, must come to an end,” he said.
The visit formed part of the Commission’s fifth-leg Readiness Assessment Tour of the South-South region ahead of the 2027 General Election. The tour is aimed at evaluating operational readiness and securing the support and cooperation of traditional rulers for a successful electoral process.
Prof. Amupitan explained that the Commission’s presence in Rivers State and across the zone was focused on assessing field personnel preparedness down to the Registration Area (Ward) level.
The INEC Chairman also disclosed that the Commission was working to improve its electoral technology and logistics.
According to him, the voter threshold for deploying additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines had been reduced from 1,250 to 850 voters per polling unit.
Prof. Amupitan stressed that the strength of Nigeria’s democracy lay at the grassroots, noting that the true practice of democracy took shape within local communities and at polling units.
“We realise that the true dynamics of democracy are shaped in the field, within our local communities, across riverine channels, at Registration Area Centres and at the polling units where citizens exercise their sovereign right,” he said.
He said the Commission had, in every geopolitical zone visited so far, prioritised direct engagement with traditional rulers.
“The Commission has made it a priority to interface directly with top traditional rulers, recognising that royal fathers are the ultimate anchors of grassroots peace, civic engagement, and community stability,” he stated.
The Chairman recalled that the Commission had so far engaged the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, and the Ataoja of Osogbo, His Royal Majesty, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun, Larooye II, both in Osun State.
He added that the Commission had also visited the Oba of Lagos, His Royal Majesty, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, in Lagos State, and the Emir of Zazzau, His Highness, Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Others, he said, were the Ogadagidi I of Edem-An Ogwugwu Ancient Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Samuel Ikechukwu Asadu, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, and the Emir of Gombe, HRH Dr. Abubakar Shehu III, CFR, in Gombe State.
Prof. Amupitan called on the royal fathers to use their influence to encourage residents to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and turn out to vote in 2027, noting that traditional rulers had a significant role to play in mobilising the people and strengthening the democratic process.
“We appeal to Your Majesty to help galvanise and mobilise the great people of Port Harcourt to support INEC and pray for INEC,” he said.
The INEC Chairman further urged the monarch to help educate citizens on the dangers of misinformation and disinformation, particularly through social media and artificial intelligence, which he described as a threat to democracy.
He urged Nigerians to verify information before sharing it, while reaffirming the Commission’s commitment to conducting free, fair, credible, inclusive and transparent elections in 2027.
In his response, the Paramount Ruler, Eze Epara Rebisi XII, assured the Commission of the support and cooperation of traditional rulers, while urging it to remain steadfast, fair and impartial in the discharge of its responsibilities.
He said the traditional institution was committed to mobilising residents for PVC collection and participation in the election.
“Do the right thing, and we assure you of our support. We will mobilise our people to collect their PVCs and come out to vote. We assure you of our unflinching support,” he said. NNL
