The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, today presided over a high-level meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the 36 States and the FCT, even as he received a delegation from the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIECON) and swore in a re-appointed REC for Enugu State, Dr. Chukwu Chukwuemeka Joseph.
The meeting, held at the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja, served as a critical appraisal of the just-concluded FCT Area Council and state constituency elections, while setting the agenda for the upcoming Ekiti and Osun Governorship polls and the 2027 General Election.
Earlier in the day, Prof. Amupitan welcomed the FOSIECON delegation led by its National Chairman, Mamman Nda Eri. Mr. Eri formally congratulated the INEC Chairman on his appointment and lauded INEC's role in setting benchmarks for electoral administration. "INEC has over the years set important benchmarks in electoral administration, institutional reform, and technological innovation," Mr. Eri stated. He outlined a five-point proposal for structured collaboration, including joint capacity building, technology sharing (specifically adapting tools like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System - BVAS), policy dialogue, and joint voter education initiatives. Prof. Amupitan welcomed the partnership, stating, "Your presence here underscores the commitment we all share to the integrity and progress of our electoral processes throughout Nigeria. Collaboration and open dialogue are essential as we strive to uphold the tenets of democracy."
The core of the Chairman's address to the RECs was a no-holds-barred review of the 21st February 2026 elections in the FCT, Kano, and Rivers States. While acknowledging successes, Prof. Amupitan did not shy away from issuing strong directives and warnings over identified failures. The FCT Area Council election saw a modest improvement, with approximately 239,000 voters casting ballots. This represents a turnout of about 15%, a notable increase from the 9.4% (148,685 voters) recorded in the 2022 FCT election. Despite the improvement, the Chairman described voter apathy as a persistent challenge. The Commission's commitment to transparency was evident, with over 93% of Polling Unit results uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal by 2:00pm on Sunday, a figure that has since climbed to an average of 97%.
Prof. Amupitan used the opportunity to firmly debunk rumours of "voter migration" in 2026, explaining that the exercise was part of the 2022 Polling Unit expansion. As part of that initiative, 6.7 million voters were redistributed nationwide from 12,000 congested units to 17,000 new ones. In the FCT alone, 580,000 voters were moved to 1,156 new polling units to ease congestion. He directed all RECs to intensify continuous voter education, urging citizens to verify their polling units via the online portal.
The Chairman expressed strong displeasure over the late opening of polling units. According to the Commission's Election Operations Dashboard, only 45% of polling units in the FCT opened by the mandated 8:30am time. While 100% were open by 10:00am, Prof. Amupitan declared the initial delay "unacceptable." "There will be consequences for any act capable of sabotaging the process," he warned, revealing that staff responsible for delays in Kuje Area Council and Kabusa Ward have been queried, and the transporter responsible for delays in Kwali Area Council will be blacklisted.
The Chairman highlighted new safeguards in the result management system, where Presiding Officers must now manually enter scores into the BVAS, which performs automatic validation checks to prevent over-voting and mathematical errors. He addressed a viral allegation of result padding at the Kuroko Health Centre in Kwali Area Council, where a party was falsely reported to have scored 1,219 votes against 345 registered voters. An investigation revealed the discrepancy was due to a transparency error: the Presiding Officer miscounted, corrected the figure in the open (changing it from 122 to 121), and accurately entered the corrected figure into the official collation system. While the process was deemed transparent, the incident underscored the intense public scrutiny on INEC's operations.
Prof. Amupitan placed the onus squarely on the RECs, stating, "You are the Commission in your states. The buck stops with you." He warned of sanctions for any staff, especially at Local Government offices, found guilty of absenteeism or dereliction of duty. Looking ahead, he informed the RECs of the new Electoral Act, 2026 and announced that a revised Timetable for the 2027 General Election would be issued shortly. He also reminded them that the second phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) is ongoing and will run until 17th April 2026, with the entire exercise concluding on 30th August 2026.
In a brief but significant ceremony, Prof. Amupitan swore in Dr. Chukwu Chukwuemeka Joseph as the REC for Enugu State, representing Abia State, congratulating him on his reappointment and urging him to uphold the highest standards of integrity. The meeting concluded with a firm message from the Chairman: "Excellence is not optional; it is mandatory."
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