INEC SUSPENDS ANNUAL LEAVE FOR STAFF AHEAD OF 2027 ELECTIONS

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By ‘Balogun Ibrahim

The Independent National Electoral Commission has directed its personnel to suspend further annual leave as preparations gather momentum for the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, announced the directive on Friday during an interactive meeting with commission staff in the North-Central zone, held in Lokoja, Kogi State.

The commission disclosed this in a statement published on its official X handle on Friday.

Amupitan said the decision was necessary to ensure the availability of personnel to meet the administrative and operational demands of the forthcoming elections.

According to the statement, the chairman addressed senior officials and field personnel from the six North-Central states and the Federal Capital Territory, stressing the need for greater discipline, efficiency and commitment as the elections approach.

He cautioned staff against negligence, absenteeism, financial misconduct and partisan behaviour, while directing Resident Electoral Commissioners and Administrative Secretaries to strengthen attendance monitoring and accountability.

The INEC chairman also announced several welfare and operational reforms, including a new salary structure, improved field allowances and increased funding for state offices.

A key component of the reforms is the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure, which reportedly took effect on January 1, 2026, following the commission’s decision to discontinue the conventional civil service salary framework. Amupitan said arrangements to provide the necessary funding for its implementation were ongoing.

He further disclosed that the commission had approved improved salary, hazard and field allowance packages for its personnel, alongside a 150 per cent increase in monthly overhead allocations to state offices, effective July 1, 2026.

On logistics, Amupitan said operational pickup vehicles had been distributed to INEC state and local government offices nationwide, while 20 Sport Utility Vehicles had been acquired for Resident Electoral Commissioners.

He added that Administrative Secretaries would also receive new vehicles to strengthen the commission’s operational capacity.

As part of its technological preparations, the commission is configuring 57,000 newly acquired Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices to enhance voter verification and accreditation during the elections.

The chairman also said INEC was auditing its electronic result management systems, including the eEC8A verification platform, to ensure the transparent transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

On voter registration, Amupitan disclosed that the preliminary voters’ register had been made available for public scrutiny, while the certified register would be released on December 15.

Regarding election security, he announced a coordinated framework involving security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, with operational structures established from the national level to local government areas and registration area centres.

He also cautioned against misinformation, fabricated media reports and artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes, warning that operational lapses could erode public confidence in the electoral process.

The commission disclosed that it had completed nine of the 14 major activities outlined in its statutory timetable for the 2027 general elections.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will take place on February 6, 2027.

The North-Central meeting, attended by officials from Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory, marked the conclusion of INEC’s nationwide zonal readiness assessment.

According to figures presented by Amupitan, the North-Central zone has 15,448,869 registered voters.

The latest directive follows a similar engagement with INEC personnel in the South-South zone in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where Amupitan reaffirmed that the commission would not alter the 2027 election dates.

He also urged staff to ensure that no eligible voter was disenfranchised as a result of operational failures.