2027: Reps Summon INEC Chairman Over Insecurity, Voter Registration, Funding

Key Takeaways

• The House of Representatives summoned INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan to brief its electoral matters committee on 2027 election preparations within seven legislative days.
• Motion sponsor Mansur Soro reported equipment shortages, insufficient personnel and network problems at voter registration centres, warning that these difficulties threatened eligible voters’ participation.
• The House Committee on Electoral Matters will review INEC’s budgetary allocations, released funds, outstanding payments and possible funding shortfalls, alongside technology and security arrangements.

The House of Representatives has summoned the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, to explain the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general elections amid concerns over insecurity and the possible disenfranchisement of eligible voters.

The lawmakers directed Amupitan t appear before the House Committee on Electoral Matters within seven legislative days to provide a comprehensive briefing on INEC’s readiness for the elections.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion jointly sponsored by the Minority Whip, Mansur Soro, and the Deputy Minority Leader, Abdussamad Dasuki, during Wednesday’s plenary.

INEC has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and state House of Assembly elections are fixed for February 6.

The House directed its Committee on Electoral Matters to examine the commission’s preparations in critical areas, including Continuous Voter Registration, Permanent Voter Card production and distribution, election logistics, technology deployment and security arrangements.

Lawmakers also want an assessment of INEC’s plans for deploying the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

The commission is expected to provide details of the recruitment and training of electoral personnel, voter education programmed and measures to address operational challenges in different parts of the country.

The committee will also review budgetary allocations to INEC, funds already released outstanding payments and the possible impact of funding shortfalls on the implementation of the electoral timetable.

In addition, lawmakers requested an assessment of lessons in Ekiti and Osun states, particularly in election administration, logistics, technology deployment and voter participation.

The motion’s sponsors had initially proposed that the INEC chairman appears before the entire House to brief lawmakers on preparations for the elections.

However, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu opposed the proposal, arguing that the responsibility should be handled by the standing committee overseeing electoral matters.

Kalu said inviting Amupitan to address the full House could undermine the committee’s oversight responsibilities.

Kalu said: “While I agree such oversight should be carried out, I believe that the oversight should be by the committee of the House that has been given this responsibility to do so.

“Inviting the chairman of INEC to come and brief the House, when he just finished briefing the nation, is not ideal.

“Don’t we believe in our committees again? Our committees are there, charged with the responsibilities. The chairman and members of this committee are well-educated and well-informed to carry out their decisions.”

Presenting the motion, Soro cited Sections 76, 116, 132 and 178 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, provisions of the Constitution’s Third Schedule and the Electoral Act 2026, which establish INEC’s responsibility for organising, undertaking and supervising elections.

He said the credibility, transparency and acceptability of the 2027 elections would depend largely on the commission’s preparedness in voter registration, voter education, logistics, technology deployment, personnel training, security coordination and funding.

According to him, the recent governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun provided useful lessons in election administration, logistics management, technology deployment, stakeholder engagement, security and voter participation.

The lawmaker also drew attention to operational difficulties reported at Continuous Voter Registration centres across the country, including inadequate registration equipment, insufficient personnel, network problems, prolonged waiting times and growing demand from citizens seeking to register or update their voter information.

“These operational difficulties particularly affect first-time voters, rural citizens, individuals with disabilities, students, and workers, limiting their access to registration and threatening the participation of eligible voters in the electoral process without timely interventions,” he said.

Dasuki, in his contribution, said the motion was intended to address concerns about the ability of eligible voters in insecure areas to participate in the elections.

“This is the very first time we are going into an election with 11 months of security concerns,” he said.

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Author:

George Oshogwe Ogbolu

George Oshogwe Ogbolu is a Digital Media Strategist | Content Writer | Journalist | New Media Influencer | Proofreader and Editor at Naija News| Contact: editor@naijanews.com

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