2027: Faulty Results Won’t Reach IReV, Says Amupitan

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan has promised Nigerians a credible 2027 general election, insisting that the Commission has fixed the result-management failures that damaged confidence in 2023.

Speaking on Thursday at Chatham House in London, Amupitan admitted that the 2023 presidential election created a deep trust deficit for INEC.

The chairman in a statement issued yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Dayo Oketola said the Commission was still working to recover from that damage, but that recent off-cycle elections show it has learnt its lessons.

Amupitan, who took office in October 2025, pointed to the governorship polls in Anambra, Osun and Ekiti, the FCT Area Council elections and 16 legislative by-elections as evidence of improvement.

He said observers agreed the Osun election was a clear step forward, and that results in Anambra and Osun — states once notorious for prolonged, inconclusive contests — were now declared a day after voting.

The 2021 Anambra governorship election, he recalled, took about five days to conclude.

The INEC chairman identified insecurity, logistics and result management as the three biggest risks for 2027.

According to him, INEC’s post-2023 audit found that the worst problems did not happen at polling units, but at collation centres, where inaccurate figures and over-voting cases found their way onto IReV.

That, he said, will not happen again.

The chairman revealed that the commission has now built validation checks into the system so that any result that fails accuracy tests at the polling unit cannot be uploaded at all.

He stated: “We found that the core problem of election result management and declaration in Nigeria is not even at the polling unit—it is at the collation centres.

“In 2023, there were instances of inaccurate results or results with over-voting being uploaded onto IReV. We have now devised a technical safeguard: if a result is not accurate at the polling unit, it will not go to IReV at all.

“The moment a result appears on IReV, citizens can trust what they see. By eliminating inconsistencies at the source, collation will become a transparent formality.”

The Commission had considered a brand-new technology for 2027, he added, but decided instead to upgrade and harden what already exists because of the short time to the polls.

Amupitan also addressed BVAS failures in 2023, which he linked to heat and poor storage.

He stressed that INEC is now building climate-controlled storage facilities in all states, saying the commission has bought additional devices, and has cut the maximum voters per BVAS from 1,250 to 850.

The chairman emphasised that Polling units with more than 850 registered voters will get multiple machines.

Amupitan noted that the nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise would hold on November 28, 2026, to simulate the presidential election and test accreditation and electronic transmission.

On funding, Amupitan stressed that INEC has received a substantial part of its 2027 budget, with the balance — including money for ad hoc staff recruitment and welfare — expected before the end of November.

He denied ever operating an X account, after online claims linked his phone number to a controversial handle.

He said a forensic review had been done and the matter reported to the DSS and the Inspector-General of Police.

He also rejected claims that his past work as a lawyer for politicians would affect his neutrality.

“My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act. Every constitutional institution—including the Presidency, the National Assembly, and state governors—owes its primary loyalty to the Constitution and the rule of law,” Amupitan said.

On the alleged 85 per cent surge in registrants in a ward in Ebonyi State, Amupitan said INEC had investigated and resolved the complaint under the Electoral Act, which allows for claims, objections and certified copies of the register.

He urged young Nigerians to remain engaged and to verify information before sharing it, warning that misinformation remains one of the biggest threats to democracy.