Amupitan to appear before lawmakers over 2027 elections

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan. Photo: INEC

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, is expected to meet with the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters next week to brief lawmakers on the commission’s level of preparedness for the 2027 general elections.

The Chairman of the committee, Bayo Balogun, disclosed this on Friday in a telephone conversation with our correspondent.

Apart from assessing INEC’s preparedness for the general elections, Amupitan is expected to brief the lawmakers on the commission’s assessment of the recently conducted governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that the planned meeting followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by the Minority Whip, Mansur Soro, and the Deputy Minority Leader, Abdulsamad Dasuki, during plenary a fortnight ago.

The lawmakers had called for an assessment of INEC’s preparations for the 2027 elections, particularly in view of the logistical, technological and security challenges associated with the conduct of nationwide polls.

Among the issues expected to come under scrutiny are the commission’s Continuous Voter Registration exercise, management and distribution of Permanent Voter Cards, election logistics, deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

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The committee is also expected to examine the training of electoral personnel, arrangements for electoral security and the adequacy of funding for the commission’s operations ahead of the polls.

Responding to an enquiry by Saturday PUNCH on when the INEC chairman would appear before the committee, Balogun said, “probably next week,” without providing further details.

Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is currently in London, United Kingdom, where he is attending an event organised by Chatham House in collaboration with the Kimpact Development Initiative on Nigeria’s preparations for the January/February 2027 general elections.

The engagement provides an opportunity for discussions on the country’s electoral preparatory efforts, the credibility of the electoral process and the institutional measures required to ensure peaceful and transparent elections.

INEC is expected to conduct the 2027 general elections amid heightened public scrutiny of the electoral process, with attention focused on voter registration, the deployment of technology, the credibility of election results and the commission’s capacity to deliver credible polls.