2027: Amupitan Charges INEC Staff To Confront Election Challenges With Discipline, Commitment

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, has urged electoral officers and heads of departments across the Southwest to intensify preparations for the 2027 general election and confront emerging challenges with discipline and commitment.

Amupitan gave the charge on Monday while addressing Electoral Officers (EOs), Heads of Department (HODs), senior administrative staff and other INEC officials from the six Southwest states at the Commission’s Southwest Zonal Interaction Meeting and Readiness Assessment in Lagos.

According to a statement via the X handle of INEC, the meeting, held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, is the first leg of a six-zone national tour by the INEC chairman to assess the Commission’s operational preparedness for the 2027 elections.

According to INEC, the tour is aimed at giving the Commission’s leadership direct insight into the operational realities confronting officials at the state and grassroots levels.

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Amupitan said preparations for the 2027 election must be approached with urgency, noting that lessons from recent off-cycle elections should be applied to strengthen the Commission’s processes.

Declaring that “the 2027 General Election is here,” the INEC chairman said the Commission must confront the task “frontally”.

He identified the Anambra State Governorship Election, FCT Area Council Election and the recent Osun State Governorship Election among the polls that provided useful lessons for the Commission.

“Those off-cycle elections have provided us with the mirror through which we can see into the 2027 elections,” Amupitan said.

The INEC chairman said his decision to engage directly with field-level officials was deliberate because the effectiveness of election preparations ultimately depends on operations at the grassroots.

He said: “The true success of any election is not decided solely in the meeting rooms of our headquarters in Abuja. It is indeed decided in the field.”

Amupitan therefore asked the EOs and HODs to use the meeting to highlight operational challenges, identify gaps and propose practical solutions ahead of the 2027 polls.

He stressed the need for continuous learning and improvement, saying challenges encountered during one election should provide guidance for subsequent electoral preparations.

The chairman also commended INEC officials who participated in the recent Osun State Governorship Election, saying the positive feedback received by the Commission was largely a result of the efforts of personnel deployed for the poll.

Earlier, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Lagos State, Prof. Ayobami Salami, said the credibility of an election was determined long before election day through adequate preparation, coordination and continuous assessment.

Salami said the readiness assessment should go beyond administrative checklists to examine the adequacy of personnel, logistics, infrastructure, technology, electoral materials, security arrangements and stakeholder engagement.

He urged electoral officers and heads of departments across the Southwest to be open about the challenges confronting them, identify weaknesses early and share practices that could improve preparations for the 2027 elections.

The Commission said the Lagos meeting would be followed by engagements with officials across the remaining five geopolitical zones as it intensifies preparations for the 2027 general election.