By Augustine Ehikioya
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has identified insecurity as the Commission’s number one concern ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Amupitan spoke in an interview in Abuja on the sidelines of an election security conference.
“Number one concern is issue of security. Because there are still some states in Nigeria that you have a lot of insecurities around, and it’s a major source of concern for us. Because that can be a source of disenfranchisement of Nigerians, and we don’t want any Nigerian to be disenfranchised,” he said.
He said INEC is liaising with the Nigeria Police Force, the lead agency on election security, to strategize for elections in volatile areas.
On pre-election matters arising from party primaries, the INEC Chairman said they are within the province of the courts.
“If there is a dispute over the primaries, most of them are already in the courts. And it’s very clear from the Electoral Act that in such cases it’s the court that has the decision. But mind you, it has to be litigated up to the final court… Elections are contested by political parties, not candidates. Whichever decision comes out at the end of the day, INEC will abide by it,” he said.
On vote buying, Amupitan said the practice has moved outside polling units and requires intelligence.
“Most of the issues of vote buying now, you don’t even see them at the polling units. They are done outside of the polling units. So we need to activate intelligence… We don’t have powers to arrest. We don’t have powers to investigate,” he noted.
He disclosed plans for a joint task force involving the Federal Ministry of Justice, Attorney-General’s office and the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, to tackle vote trading collectively.
The INEC Chairman said the Commission has improved logistics and result management, citing five off-cycle elections conducted so far, none inconclusive.
“What we learned from Anambra we ensured did not repeat in FCT… Just like some people were saying Osun is going to bring down the country. But we did everything possible, because what Nigerians are waiting for is just to be sure that the election is transparent,” he said.
He assured Nigerians of determination to conduct free, fair, credible and inclusive election in 2027.
On violent campaigns, Amupitan said campaigns should be issue-based, not personality attacks.
“Election should not be a do or die… We are working with law enforcement agencies to ensure that those guilty of offences under the Electoral Act be arrested, investigated, and even prosecuted. And it’s the responsibility of the police,” he added.
