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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has completed nine of the 14 statutory activities outlined in its revised timetable for the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja while receiving a pre-election fact-finding mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by former Sierra Leone Vice-President, Victor Bockarie Foh.
The delegation, co-led by former ECOWAS Executive Secretary and former Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament, Dr Abbas Chernor Bundu, visited the commission to assess its preparedness for the forthcoming elections.
Amupitan said the completed milestones included three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and the nationwide physical display of the Preliminary Register of Voters.
He explained that the preliminary register had also been uploaded to INEC's dedicated online portal to enable citizens to scrutinise the list and submit claims or objections ahead of the certification of the final register scheduled for December 15, 2026.
The INEC chairman disclosed that the National Register of Voters had exceeded 103 million, noting that the 2027 elections would cover 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, 774 local government areas, 8,809 registration areas and 176,846 polling units.
He said the presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections were scheduled for February 6, 2027.
On operational preparedness, Amupitan said the commission had embarked on zonal readiness assessment tours across the six geopolitical zones to evaluate logistics, infrastructure and personnel capacity.
According to him, assessments had been completed in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East, while the South-South exercise would take place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He said the assessment tours were designed to strengthen engagement with electoral officers, inspect facilities and consult traditional rulers and community leaders.
On technology deployment, Amupitan said INEC would use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for fingerprint and facial biometric accreditation, while its electronic result management systems, including the newly introduced eEC8A electronic verification platform, would strengthen transparency.
He added that the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) would allow members of the public to verify results transmitted from polling units.
The commission, he further disclosed, had improved staff welfare through the approval of the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS) and a 150 per cent increase in state operational overheads.
However, Amupitan warned that INEC would not tolerate administrative negligence, extortion or partisan conduct among its personnel.
On election security, he said the commission was collaborating with security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to implement an intelligence-driven framework for identifying and addressing potential threats before election day.
He explained that the framework, known as ICCES Tentacle, would protect polling units and electoral personnel, particularly members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), while ensuring unhindered access to polling stations for persons with disabilities and other voters.
Earlier, Foh said the ECOWAS mission was in Nigeria to evaluate INEC's preparations and readiness for the 2027 elections.
He urged the commission to ensure strict compliance with all electoral procedures and sustain consultations with relevant stakeholders.
Foh stressed that the credibility of the elections would largely depend on the commission's commitment to due process, transparency and the active involvement of all stakeholders.
