Reps invite Amupitan for briefing on INEC’s preparedness for 2027 elections

Members of the House of Representatives have invited Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to brief them on the umpire’s readiness for the 2027 general election.

The invitation was sequel to a motion co-sponsored by Mansur Soro (APM, Bauchi) and Abdussamad Dasuki (ADC, Sokoto) during plenary on Wednesday.

Soro, the motion’s lead sponsor, told his colleague that the credibility, transparency, and acceptability of the 2027 elections would largely depend on INEC’s preparations, including voter registration, voter education, personnel training, security coordination, and the timely implementation of the election timetable.

He expressed concerns about operational challenges reported at some continuous voter registration (CVR) centres nationwide, including inadequate registration equipment, staff shortages, network disruptions, and long waiting times.

Soro said these challenges could restrict access to voter registration, particularly for first-time voters, rural residents, persons with disabilities, students and workers, if not addressed promptly.

The lawmaker said the recently concluded Ekiti governorship election offers useful lessons on election administration, technology deployment, logistics management, stakeholder engagement, security, and voter participation, which should guide preparations for the forthcoming general election.

The legislator said early institutional preparedness is crucial to procuring election materials on time, deploying technology, recruiting and training personnel, conducting effective voter education, planning security, assessing electoral risks, and managing logistics nationwide.

“Any delay in addressing existing operational gaps in voter registration, logistics, technology deployment and funding may adversely affect public confidence in the electoral process and compromise the peaceful conduct of the 2027 general election,” he said.

He asked lawmakers to invite Amupitan to, within seven days, brief the house on the commission’s readiness for the 2027 elections, including progress of continuous voter registration, the status of PVC production and distribution, the readiness of election technology and logistics, mapping of challenging areas, recruitment and training status of election officials, budgetary appropriations, funds released, outstanding releases and the implications of any funding gaps on implementation timelines.

However, Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker, rejected the demand that Amupitan should brief lawmakers during plenary.

Kalu proposed that Amupitan appear before the committee on electoral matters, and any lawmaker may attend the session.

The deputy speaker’s proposal passed when Tajudeen Abbas, the speaker, put it to a voice vote.