INEC CHAIRMAN WARNS OFFICIALS AGAINST PARTISANSHIP AHEAD OF 2027 ELECTIONS

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has urged electoral officials in the North-East to maintain strict neutrality, improve operational preparedness and ensure that all eligible voters participate in the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan gave the directive on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, during the North-East Zonal Interactive Staff Meeting and Operational Readiness Assessment for the 2027 general elections in Gombe State.

He said the credibility of the forthcoming elections would largely depend on the professionalism, integrity, punctuality and preparedness of electoral personnel at polling units, ward collation centres and local government offices.

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The INEC chairman cautioned that administrative lapses, logistical challenges, partisan behaviour and ineffective communication could erode public confidence in the electoral process and create room for misinformation.

According to him, the commission’s nationwide readiness assessment was aimed at identifying operational weaknesses, evaluating staff preparedness and strengthening its institutional capacity ahead of the elections.

Amupitan noted that the North-East meeting followed similar exercises conducted in the South-West, North-West and South-East geopolitical zones. He added that INEC’s leadership had also carried out physical inspections of electoral facilities in Gombe to assess the level of preparedness.

As part of the exercise, the commission’s leadership visited the palace of the Emir of Gombe, Alhaji (Dr.) Abubakar Shehu Abubakar III, CFR, and inspected INEC’s zonal store and its Gombe Local Government Area office.

He explained that the inspections were intended to establish the commission’s actual level of readiness on the ground rather than depend exclusively on administrative reports from its headquarters.

“The true integrity of an election is not determined in conference rooms in Abuja; it is forged in the field,” Amupitan said, emphasising that the conduct of electoral officials at the grassroots would significantly influence public perception of the 2027 elections.

North-East has nearly 14 million registered voters

Highlighting the region’s electoral importance, Amupitan disclosed that the North-East had 13,965,475 registered voters across Bauchi, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe and Yobe states.

He said the figure accounted for approximately 13.51 per cent of Nigeria’s more than 103 million registered voters.

The breakdown presented at the meeting showed that Bauchi had 3,012,547 registered voters, while Borno had 2,765,165. Adamawa recorded 2,431,146, Taraba had 2,254,380, Gombe had 1,768,566, and Yobe had 1,733,671.

Gombe State, which has 11 local government areas, 114 registration areas and 3,311 polling units, was identified as a key centre for electoral logistics and regional coordination.

The INEC chairman stressed that the figures represented millions of citizens whose constitutional right to elect their leaders must be protected through transparent, secure and efficient electoral administration.

He urged electoral officials to remove administrative bottlenecks, improve the distribution and collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), and address logistical challenges that could prevent eligible Nigerians from exercising their voting rights.

Amupitan reiterated that INEC was intensifying preparations for the 2027 general elections, with a focus on operational efficiency, institutional readiness and the protection of every eligible voter’s right to participate.