2027: When INEC’s Lofty Promises are Not Enough

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan, has, in the past three weeks, been reassuring Nigerians of credible elections in 2027, but are mere words enough to earn public trust? Davidson Iriekpen asks

With less than 100 days to the 2027 elections, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN), has continued to reassure Nigerians and the international community of his commission’s determination to conduct free, fair and credible polls.

At a press conference and national stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, he pledged total commitment to neutrality, operational excellence and the sacred integrity of the ballot box in the polls.

Reeling out stages of preparedness, Amupitan said that production of 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices as well as additional voting cubicles and ballot boxes had reached advanced stage. He also assured that critical ICT applications were being upgraded, while core infrastructure was being implemented, with some states currently receiving non-sensitive materials. According to him, printing of ballot papers and result sheets was nearly completed, and every necessary arrangement had been put in place to avoid technological glitches.

A few days earlier, at the Guild of Online Publishers (GOCOP) meeting held in Lagos, Amupitan vowed that winners of the 2027 general elections would be determined by the votes of the electorate only.

The INEC boss, who was represented by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Lagos, Professor Ayobami Salami, declared that his commission did not have a preferred candidate or party and that the electoral umpire was not protecting any kind of institutional interest. He asserted that the ultimate success of the 2027 general election would not be measured merely by the deployment of men and equipment, but also by the transparency of the process and the credibility of the outcomes and the sheer commitment of all stakeholders to safeguard the sanctity of the ballot box.

He said: “Let me tell you, on behalf of the commission, that in the 2027 election, by the grace of God, what will determine the winner would be the votes of Nigerians, and the will of Nigerians will prevail. INEC has no preferred candidate, no favoured political party and no institutional interest, other than protecting the sacred and uncoerced will of Nigerian voters.”

Within the same period, at the sixth edition of the Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers in Owerri, Imo State, he reiterated his commission’s commitment to conduct transparent, credible and acceptable elections in 2027, reassuring that there would be no predetermined results in next year’s general election.

Even at the strategic workshop for Editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), in Abuja recently, Amupitan reiterated that the commission had no preferred candidate in the general election, and assured Nigerians of free, fair and credible elections in 2027.

He added that history and experience had taught the commission a fundamental lesson that operational perfection was insufficient on its own to guarantee democratic stability.

“The ultimate arbiter of electoral integrity is public trust. That trust cannot be constructed in isolation; it requires an active, transparent, and unshakeable partnership between the electoral umpire, civil society, and the free press,” he said.

It is instructive that since he assumed office on October 23, 2025, the INEC boss has seized every opportunity to pledge his commission’s commitment to ensuring that every vote would count in the upcoming elections.

This constant reassurance has ignited greater political interest in the 2027 elections.

It is well known that since Nigeria’s return to democratic government in 1999, every general election cycle is characterised by allegations of interference in the electoral process, especially in favour of the ruling party. This culminated in a loss of zeal and active participation by many people. Their argument is that it is an effort in futility to participate in the election that lacks credibility and fairness.

Unfortunately, the inability of the commission to deliver a flawless poll created a state of apathy and fear of violence.

While many would argue that Nigeria does not lack the capacity to conduct credible elections, it lacks the institutional consistency, political restraint and public confidence required to make electoral integrity the rule rather than the exception.

For many Nigerians, the 2023 general election was the apogee. Though technologically ambitious with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and IReV portal, it exposed deep operational and institutional flaws.

While Amupitan inherited this burden of disillusionment, as the man currently in charge of Nigeria’s electoral commission, many expect him to address the credibility deficit that followed previous elections and avoid further voter apathy and civic disengagement.

It is not enough for him to make lofty promises, he must demonstrate through concrete actions that he understands the magnitude of his responsibility.

The INEC chair must know that trust, once broken, is not easily restored. Nigerians must see in him a man committed to the sanctity of the ballot, not a servant of political interests. His background as an academic and legal scholar should serve as a guiding compass for impartiality and adherence to the principles of due process.

As Amupitan is busy making promises, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have criticised his commission over alleged ethnic bias in staff redeployments and a lack of transparency regarding sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 general election. They accused the commission of handling staff redeployments in key departments along sectional and ethnic lines.

Atiku and the ADC also demanded that INEC confirm or deny reports that a major portion of sensitive election materials—including presidential ballots—was awarded to an undisclosed foreign company (believed to be based in France) and a firm linked to Hitech owned by the Chagoury family.

Besides, in all Ampuitan’s assurances, he has not told Nigerians how he is going to tame desperate politicians who are going to sabotage his much-touted free, fair and credible elections.

Sometimes many Nigerians are wondering what Amupitan feels or whether he listens to the constant rhetoric of political actors like the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike who in a viral video last week, revealed how he ensured that the governorship candidate of the PDP in the last Edo State election, Asue Ighodalo, did not win the poll even when he knew that he was the best candidate, and how nothing will stop him from delivering the FCT and Rivers State to President Bola Tinubu by every means possible, and many other revelations.

Wike has equally given reason why Tinubu must win the 2027 election because, according him, if Atiku or Peter Obi wins, they will come after him.

As the election fast approaching, the questions many Nigerians are asking Amupitan amid his assurances are: Can his commission resist political pressure from powerful interests? Can logistical failures be reduced to the barest minimum? Can technology work reliably in remote communities as well as major cities? And, perhaps most importantly, can the commission convince Nigerians that the ballot remains more powerful than money, influence and political connections?

The answers to these questions will not be found in speeches or promises. It will be found at the polling units in January and February 2027 when Nigerians cast their votes and wait to see whether the institution entrusted with protecting those votes will allow the votes to count.