The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is preparing to deploy about 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units for the 2027 General Election as it scales up preparations for the nationwide exercise.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while receiving a Pre-Election Assessment Mission of the International Republican Institute (IRI).
With official campaigns for the 2027 elections scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 19, the commission says it is moving into a critical phase of preparations for an election that will require the coordination of a huge workforce, extensive logistics and technology across the country.
Amupitan described the planned deployment as part of INEC’s operational roadmap for managing the scale of the 2027 elections.
He said the commission would continue to draw lessons from recent off-cycle elections, including the Osun governorship election held on August 15, to strengthen its systems ahead of the national polls.
The commission is also working to ensure that the voter register is clean and reliable ahead of 2027.
Amupitan said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) as part of its Continuous Voter Registration and register-audit process to identify and eliminate duplicate records.
On logistics, the commission plans to expand early deployment arrangements and deepen collaboration with transport unions to improve the movement of personnel and election materials and facilitate timely opening of polling units.
INEC also plans to improve accessibility at polling locations, with specialised measures for persons with disabilities, pregnant women, nursing mothers and elderly voters.
Despite the extensive preparations, Amupitan acknowledged that the commission faces significant challenges ahead of 2027.
He identified security threats, electoral violence, vote-buying, hate speech, disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference as issues capable of undermining voter confidence.
To address these risks, INEC is working with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, while also collaborating with the EFCC and ICPC on electoral offences and campaign-finance violations.
The INEC Chairman also said the commission would participate in the signing of the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns with presidential candidates under the auspices of the National Peace Committee.
Amupitan said recent off-cycle elections have also provided an opportunity for INEC to test its technological systems ahead of 2027.
He highlighted the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the real-time uploading of polling-unit result sheets to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV.
According to him, recent off-cycle elections recorded upload rates of more than 98 per cent, providing the commission with valuable operational lessons as it prepares for the much larger 2027 exercise.
The INEC Chairman assured the IRI delegation that the commission would remain open to independent assessments and recommendations from international observers.
He reiterated that INEC would maintain its neutrality and focus on delivering a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive election.