Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called on the federal government to promptly release its remaining budget to ensure a seamless execution of the rest of the electoral activities.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, made the plea on Tuesday in Abuja at a World Press Conference and National Stakeholders’ Meeting marking 100 days to the 2027 general election.
Amupitan, however, assured that the 2027 general election would be a global benchmark for transparency, integrity, and peace.
He stressed that the 100-day milestone was not just a countdown, but a call to action and a final phase to deliver an election that would be a “global benchmark for transparency, integrity, and peace”.
According to him, “This 100-day milestone is not just a countdown; it is a call to action. It marks the beginning of the final phase of our preparations to ensure that the 2027 General Election is not only successful but serves as a global benchmark for transparency, integrity, and peace.”
The INEC chairman said since assuming office on October 23, 2025, his leadership had conducted major off-cycle polls — Anambra, Ekiti and Osun governorship elections, FCT Area Council polls and federal and state by-elections — all of which passed integrity tests by local and international observers.
He recalled that the commission issued a revised timetable on February 26, 2026 with 14 critical statutory milestones, of which nine had been executed.
The chairman stated that the operational plan was synchronised across 23 departments, 36 state offices, FCT, and 774 local government area offices.
Amupitan revealed that the federal government had released statutory allocations, enabling the commission to meet vendor obligations and upgrade technology and infrastructure, but called for prompt release of the balance.
He stated, “Executing a national election of this magnitude requires robust financial backing and fiscal discipline.
“The federal government has maintained its commitment to democratic governance through the timely release of statutory budgetary allocations to the Commission.
“Operating under a framework of transparent fiscal management, these funds have enabled us to meet international vendor obligations, finance the production of critical election technology, upgrade physical infrastructure, and sustain multi-stakeholder operational deployments nationwide.
“However, we expect the prompt release of the remaining budget to ensure seamless execution of the remaining activities.”
On nominations, Amupitan said 18 of 22 registered parties submitted presidential candidates.
He said Accord party, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Youth Party nominated none, while the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) withdrew during the substitution window.
For National Assembly, Amupitan revealed that 21 parties sponsored 1,313 senatorial and 3,547 House of Representatives candidates.
He explained that for governorship and state Assemblies, 21 parties nominated 936 governorship/deputy and 9,692 Assembly candidates.
The chairman stressed that 112 complaints on unlawful withdrawal, substitution, and typographical errors were investigated and resolved, except those in court.
He said the commission was also reviewing a Supreme Court judgement delivered September 24, 2026 in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party affirming Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act 2026, adding that the Certified True Copy (CTC) was received Tuesday morning.
Amupitan pointed out that the commission restored 27 state constituencies in Benue, Delta, Jigawa and Kogi states between June-August 2026, and created two new constituencies in Delta — Warri South West II and Warri North II — to implement the Supreme Court decision in Hon. George U. Timinimi & Orsv. INEC.
The chairman said in line with Section 10 of the Electoral Act, Phase I of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) ran from August 25 to December 10, 2025 and registered 2,611,266 voters.
He said Phase II ran from January 5 to April 17, 2026 and registered 4,121,835. Phase III ran from May 11 to July 26, 2026 and registered 3,867,997.
Amupitan revealed that the total registration was 10,772,421, following the conclusion of Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) verification. The National Register of Voters now stands at 103 million, he said.
Following the completion of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise conducted in three phases, Lagos led with 7,488,633 voters; Kano – 6,570,276; Kaduna – 4,662,640; Katsina – 3,876,05; Rivers – 3,736,434; Oyo – 3,588,111; Delta – 3,525,988; Benue – 3,057,225; Ogun – 3,037,981; and Bauchi – 3,012,547.
Amupitan explained that states with lowest figures were Ekiti – 1,055,708; Bayelsa – 1,200,691; FCT – 1,732,043; Yobe – 1,733,671; and Gombe – 1,768,566.
He stressed that by gender, male voters constituted 53,528,218 (51.75 per cent) and female voters accounted for 49,900,497 (48.25 per cent).
By age, he said voters aged 35-49 dominated with 43.2 million (41.83 per cent), followed by 18-34 with 29.7 million (28.79 per cent), 50-69 with 22.9 million (22.22 per cent), and 70+ with 7.4 million (7.16 per cent).
While Persons with Disabilities were 232,658 (0.23 per cent), with the largest category being “Others” – 101,183, whereas Albinism accounted for 44,023 and physical impediment 27,141.
Amupitan stated that those registered under blindness were 19,939 (8.57 per cent), while deafness accounted for 14,326 (6.16 per cent).
He said the register also contained 8,832 voters with autism (3.80 per cent), 7,723 with cognitive or learning disabilities (3.32 per cent), and 5,755 with little stature (2.47 per cent).
The chairman further said the smallest categories were Down syndrome, with 2,080 voters (0.89 per cent), and spinal cord injury, with 1,656 voters (0.71 per cent)
Amupitan said the voter register would be displayed for claims and objections from 9 to 15 October 2026, in line with Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, while collection of Phase 1 PVCs begins Friday, October 9, 2026 at the local government centres.
He stated that claims and objections arising from the nationwide display at Registration Areas would be addressed thereafter.
He said, “It is important to note that in the third phase of the CVR, we introduced, for the first time in Nigeria, the Online Registration Portal technology for registrants to eliminate barriers of distance and time.
“Furthermore, we introduced Printable PVC technology in line with Section 18(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 to ensure that waiting months for a card becomes a relic of the past.
“The Register of Voters for the 2027 general election is expected to be presented to political parties on 15th December 2026.”
Amupitan added that procurement had moved to execution for 57,000 new BVAS devices, ballot boxes, cubicles, operational vehicles, solar power for offices, BVAS storage facilities and local government office construction.
For logistics to 176,846 polling units across 8,838 Registration Areas, he said INEC had renewed MoUs with NURTW, RTEAN and MWUN for over 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats.
The chairman said special provisions included speedboats for Niger Delta and Lake Chad, 4×4 vehicles for highlands, life jackets, and waterproof containers.
Amupitan revealed that sensitive materials were being pre-batched to local government areas, while sensitive materials would move from CBN vaults to local government areas 72 hours to polls and to RACs by 4pm on eve of elections. Polls would open at 7:30am.
He said BVAS had undergone software hardening and battery optimisation, with 57,000 new units acquired.
The eEC8A system, he contended, would ensure polling unit results were cryptographically authenticated and uploaded to IReV. A Downloadable PVC was tested in Osun.
He said, “Other tech milestones include nationwide BVAS audit, configuration on SureMDM, six-day stress test 23-28 October, training of RATECHs in November, LGA readiness audits 13-14 January 2027, and a nationwide mock accreditation in November 2026. Digital lessons will supplement ad-hoc staff training.”
Amupitan revealed that for the 2027 general election, the commission would require 707,384 ad hoc personnel for the presidential and National Assembly elections on January 16, and the same number for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections on February 6.
He said it was a total of 1,414,768 engagements across 176,846 polling units, compared with about 1.2 million in 2023.
The chairman said the bulk of the workforce would be drawn from the National Youth Service Corps, saying in 2023, more than 70 per cent of the ad hoc staff, nearly 850,000 people, were corps members and student volunteers.
European Union, reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria’s democracy and pledged full support to INEC.
EU Representative, Ambassador Gautier Mingot, described the upcoming elections as a key moment to reaffirm the strength of Nigeria’s democracy and provide elected leaders with the legitimacy needed to govern over the next four years.
He commended INEC’s efforts in recent off-cycle elections, citing the Osun State governorship election as an example of improved public trust in the electoral process, which he said reduced post-election tensions.
Mingot stressed that credible elections required the collective responsibility of all stakeholders — the three arms of government at federal and state levels, political parties and candidates, security agencies, the media, civil society and citizens.
He stated that the EU support to Nigerian democracy, through its Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (SDGN) programme, had been constant and significant, and the support had extended beyond INEC to other stakeholders in the electoral value chain.
He said EU’s partnership was based on respect for Nigeria’s sovereignty, stating that the bloc does not support any candidate or political party.
Mingot said, “Ours is a friendly partnership, respectful of Nigeria’s sovereignty. We respond to the invitation of the competent authorities. We don’t impose any view or orientation, and needless to say, we don’t support specific candidates or parties.”
He stated that it would again deploy an expert electoral mission following INEC’s invitation, to monitor the run-up to the election, the conduct of the ballot, and its immediate aftermath.
The EU envoy called on all stakeholders to prevent electoral violence and pledged EU’s continued collaboration with the National Peace Committee.
Mingot added, “Freedom and acceptance of peaceful expression is the right alternative and antidote to political violence, and free, honest and correct information — debunking fake news — is another key factor. The media has an essential role to play in that.”
He called for inclusivity in the process, particularly for women and persons with disabilities, whether as candidates, party members, INEC officials or voters.
“In these elections, INEC, the other stakeholders, and most importantly, the Nigerian people can again count on the European Union as a reliable partner to do whatever it can to help democracy flourish and grow in this great country,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the police, AIG Police Mobile Force, Francis Idu, assured Nigerians that the January general election would be conducted in a peaceful atmosphere, with security agencies working to stabilise crisis-prone areas across the country.
He added that the police had reviewed previous elections and aligned their operational conduct with the Electoral Act to ensure that citizens’ opportunity to elect their leaders did not degenerate into violence and dislocation of social harmony.
Idu explained that election security was beyond providing personnel at polling units, stressing that the force has both operational and tactical frameworks covering security for election venues, materials, INEC staff, vulnerable groups including women, and the protection of election results.
“While INEC is the agency that conducts elections, security for the election is provided by us. We must use legitimate authority, not brute force, to regulate the conduct of the elections,” he said.
Idu described the upcoming polls as “particularly interesting” due to pockets of insecurity across the country.
He said police operations were currently ongoing to stabilise various flashpoints from the North to the South.
He stated, “Currently, we are operating around Ogun, Niger and Taraba to ensure that we are able to hold the various crisis points and ensure there is calm for the elections.
“The police will by November review all security preparations and by the end of December brief Nigerians on measures put in place for the polls.”
Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Dantalle, issued a strong warning to INEC officials against partisanship, stressing that the commission must remain neutral.
Dantalle emphasised that the recently conducted Osun governorship election had raised public confidence, but warned that the general election would be more peculiar and politically charged.
Dantalle stated, “On our part as political parties, we will try as much as possible to ensure that we work within the rules. Nigeria belongs to all of us.
“I want to warn INEC officials not to take sides with any political party or any candidate. Nigeria belongs to all of us. Today you are in INEC, tomorrow you will be out. As political parties, we will support the Commission to ensure both INEC and Nigeria succeed.”
The IPAC chairman also urged the security agencies to uphold the constitution and resist pressure to compromise the process.
He stated, “Today, you are in uniform, tomorrow you won’t be. We have seen today — a former Inspector-General of Police is contesting election. He wants to be governor, and some of you will also join politics soon. You swore to protect the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, please work for Nigeria. History will remember you for whatever role you play.”
Dantalle also cautioned INEC ad-hoc staff that their conduct was under public scrutiny.
He told them, “Your character is being audited by Nigerians. Please work within the established rules so that we can conduct this election in an atmosphere of peace and development.”
Dantalle called on journalists to verify information before publication, warning against the spread of misinformation in the public space.
He said, “Most of your reports should be investigated because there is so much information that we see in the public space that is not true. Let’s save this country. This election will come and go, but Nigeria will remain.”
Adedayo Akinwale
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