The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct a nationwide mock accreditation exercise in November 2026 to test its readiness for the 2027 General Election.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this Abuja while receiving the Chargé d’Affaires of the Canadian High Commission to Nigeria, Mr David Sproule, and the newly appointed Country Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), Mr Moritz Sprenker, during separate courtesy visits to the Commission’s headquarters.
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Prof. Amupitan said the exercise would serve as a rigorous field test of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), aimed at identifying and addressing possible challenges ahead of the 2027 polls.
He described the August 15 Osun State governorship election as a “superlative benchmark” for electoral administration, attributing the successful conduct of the poll to administrative foresight, technological reliability and proactive crisis management.
According to him, 3,556 of the 3,763 polling units in Osun State, representing 94.5 per cent, opened for accreditation and voting by 8:30 a.m.
He said the performance of BVAS, seamless transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal and effective field-level crisis management contributed significantly to the outcome.
“We view the success in Osun not as a final destination, but as the gold standard that will guide our preparations for 2027,” the INEC Chairman said.
Prof. Amupitan said the Commission would also continue to explore ways of strengthening electoral technology, inclusivity, institutional capacity and measures to combat election-related misinformation.
He disclosed that INEC had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence (AI) Unit to improve data management, voter registration and results transmission, while ensuring that emerging technologies were not abused.
The Chairman further explained that a voter revalidation exercise remained necessary, particularly for elderly voters whose registration records dated back to 2011.
He, however, said the exercise could not be undertaken before the 2027 General Election because of time constraints, stressing that it would help prevent delays and other challenges in future electoral processes.
Prof. Amupitan said the Commission was also preparing for the deployment of approximately 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide.
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He noted that the Presidential and National Assembly elections were scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections would hold on February 6, 2027.
The INEC Chairman also recalled that public campaigns and rallies for the 2027 elections officially commenced on August 19, 2026, following the Commission’s participation in the signing of the first National Peace Accord on issue-based campaigning by presidential candidates and political party chairmen.
Receiving the Canadian delegation, Prof. Amupitan commended Canada for its sustained support for electoral governance, civic education, institutional strengthening and gender inclusion in Nigeria.
He identified five key areas for continued cooperation with Canada: consolidating the technological gains recorded in Osun, strengthening electoral inclusion for persons with disabilities, women, youth and other underrepresented groups, institutional capacity building, combating misinformation, and supporting the planned mock accreditation exercise.
Mr Sproule commended INEC’s efforts towards conducting free and credible elections and reaffirmed Canada’s readiness to support the Commission, including through election observation.
He expressed particular interest in strengthening the participation of women and other segments of society in the electoral process.
In a separate engagement with the KAS Country Representative, Prof. Amupitan described the foundation as a longstanding partner of INEC and commended its contributions to constitutional democracy, the rule of law and good governance.
He said INEC and KAS had collaborated on regulatory frameworks for political parties, including technical retreats in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and Lagos, which contributed to the Commission’s preparations for the Osun election.
He identified civic education, democratic culture, electoral technology, institutional capacity building, countering misinformation, inclusion of persons with disabilities and marginalised groups, and interagency dialogue as priority areas for future collaboration.
Responding, Mr Sprenker said KAS operates in more than 100 countries and has worked in Nigeria for over 25 years with government, civil society, academia and the media.
He recalled a capacity-building workshop on procurement organised with INEC in Lagos in March 2026 and pledged the foundation’s continued commitment to strengthening its partnership with the Commission.
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Prof. Amupitan used both engagements to reassure the international community of INEC’s independence, neutrality and commitment to democratic integrity as preparations intensify for the 2027 General Election.