…Amupitan Insists on ‘Unbreakable National Standards’ for 2027 Elections, Launches Real-Time Readiness Tracker
By Peter Salami
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has ordered senior officials of the commission across the country to build on the successes recorded in recent elections, particularly in Osun State, while firmly resisting political interference and rejecting operational shortcuts as preparations intensify for the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan said INEC could not afford different standards of election administration across the federation, insisting that lessons and improvements from successful off-cycle elections must now be scaled up into what he described as an “unbreakable national standard” for the 2027 polls.
The INEC chairman spoke on Monday in Lagos while opening a two-day Strategic Operational Workshop for Administrative Secretaries from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Describing the Administrative Secretaries as the “engine room” of the commission’s operations at the state level, Amupitan said their conduct, discipline, and preparedness would be crucial to the credibility of the forthcoming elections.
“If you tolerate shortcuts, shortcuts will multiply. If you tolerate political interference, neutrality will deteriorate… Your responsibility is to build an administrative culture capable of delivering a credible election,” he told the officials.
He charged them to eliminate ambiguity in election planning, enforce strict operational discipline, and ensure that the commission’s offices nationwide function according to uniform standards rather than improvising when problems arise.
As part of the new approach, Amupitan announced the introduction of an Administrative Secretary Master Operational Tracker Template, a data-driven system designed to give INEC headquarters real-time information on the state of election preparedness across the federation.
The tracker will be directly linked to INEC’s Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC), allowing the commission to monitor critical preparations, including the distribution of election materials and training of personnel in the states.
According to Amupitan, the initiative is intended to move INEC away from reactive crisis management towards proactive election planning by detecting logistical and operational weaknesses early enough for corrective action.
He said the commission must institutionalise the gains recorded in recent off-cycle elections instead of treating them as isolated successes, stressing that 2027 would require consistent standards across every state, local government, and polling unit.
Drawing on the words of former United States Secretary of State and retired General Colin Powell, Amupitan said successful election management would ultimately depend on preparation, hard work, and the willingness to learn from previous failures.
The two-day workshop is consequently being run as an election-focused “boot camp” to stress-test five critical areas of the commission’s preparations for 2027.
Among them are voter registration and Permanent Voter Card distribution, with INEC seeking to improve PVC collection as the national register moves towards the 100-million-voter mark.
Officials are also expected to strengthen logistics and election-material management, covering the receipt, auditing, storage and secure deployment of sensitive materials.
Another major focus is electoral technology, particularly mastery of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV), and the Candidate Registration and Results Management System (CROMS).
The commission is equally tightening preparations around human resources, including the recruitment, vetting and technological training of ad-hoc personnel who will be deployed for the elections.
Financial compliance and accountability will also receive attention, with emphasis on automated workflows, adherence to procurement regulations and tighter management of election-related expenditure.
Amupitan challenged Administrative Secretaries to interrogate existing practices rather than assume that established procedures were adequate, identify peculiar bottlenecks within their states and ensure that routine administrative operations were fully aligned with the demands of the 2027 elections.
Under INEC’s timetable, the 2027 general elections are scheduled to begin with the presidential and National Assembly elections on January 16, while the final register of voters is expected to be published on January 11.
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