INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan says late delivery of election materials will not recur in 2027, warning thatattacks on electoral workers will attract prosecution.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians that delays in the delivery of election materials experienced during previous elections will not recur in the 2027 general elections, warning that anyone who threatens or attacks its personnel will face the full weight of the law.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, gave the assurance during his South-South readiness assessment tour in Rivers State, where he also announced a reduction in the voter threshold for deploying additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines from 1,250 to 850 voters per polling unit.
Amupitan spoke on Friday during a courtesy visit to the palace of the King and Paramount Ruler of Port Harcourt, Eze Epara Rebisi XII, Barrister Uchechukwu Isaiah Elikwu.
He said the commission was taking steps to ensure that election materials reached polling units on time, recalling delays that affected the commencement of voting in previous elections.
“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 INEC chairman also appealed to traditional rulers to mobilise residents to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and participate in the 2027 elections.
He said the commission had prioritised engagement with traditional rulers across the six geopolitical zones because of their influence in promoting peace, community stability and civic participation.
Amupitan urged the Port Harcourt monarch to encourage residents to support the electoral process and help educate them on the dangers of misinformation and disinformation, particularly on social media and through artificial intelligence.
In his response, Eze Epara Rebisi XII assured INEC of the support of traditional rulers, promising to mobilise residents for PVC collection and voter participation.
The INEC chairman gave a separate warning against attacks on electoral personnel on Saturday at the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement in Port Harcourt.
He warned that anyone who threatens, intimidates or harms the commission’s ad-hoc staff, National Youth Service Corps members or permanent personnel would be prosecuted.
“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.
Amupitan said the commission had adopted an intelligence-led security arrangement to protect election personnel, equipment and voters, moving away from security deployments that begin only on Election Day.
He described the framework, known as the ICCES Tentacle, as an extension of inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters to local government areas and Registration Area Centres.
He identified its three priorities as mapping and mitigating threats, protecting electoral personnel and ensuring voters have access to polling units.
According to him, the South-South security arrangement involves about 60 major operational formations, headquarters and state commands under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The network includes military, naval, air, police and other security and intelligence agencies operating across the six states in the region.
The INEC chairman said the South-South has 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of the national voter register. Rivers State accounts for 3,736,434 registered voters across its 23 local government areas.
He disclosed that INEC had completed nine of the 14 major statutory milestones for the 2027 general elections, which are expected to involve more than 103 million registered voters and 176,846 polling units.
The Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
On logistics, Amupitan said the commission had concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime Transporters Union to facilitate the movement of election personnel and materials to riverine and coastal communities.
He added that new operational pickup vehicles had been distributed to state and local government offices nationwide.
The chairman also disclosed that INEC had introduced changes to improve staff welfare, including moving its workforce to the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure from January 1, 2026, and approving a 150 per cent increase in monthly state overhead allocations from July 1, 2026.
He urged electoral officers to remain neutral and committed to their responsibilities, warning that partisan conduct, negligence, financial misconduct and absenteeism would attract sanctions.
Amupitan said late opening of polling units, unresolved technical problems and poor conduct by electoral personnel could undermine public confidence and provide room for misinformation.
He reminded staff that Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026 provides for an Oath of Neutrality and urged them to follow the law and the commission’s guidelines in carrying out their duties.
Earlier, Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, said the zonal engagement was designed to assess INEC’s preparedness, identify operational gaps and establish priorities ahead of the elections.
He said credible elections required adequate planning, resources, technological preparedness, competent personnel and effective engagement with stakeholders.
The Director of Planning and Monitoring, Helen Ajayi, said the assessment would cover election security, staff training, voter education, stakeholder engagement and logistical arrangements across the South-South states. Arise TV
Leave a Reply