INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan warned the commission’s staff against partisanship, negligence, financial impropriety and absenteeism ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections. The admonition was delivered at the North‑Central Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment in Lokoja, Kogi State, marking the conclusion of a nationwide tour of INEC personnel.
Amupitan cited Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026, which requires a formal Oath of Neutrality, and warned that any breach would attract swift sanctions. He stressed that the oath obliges staff to remain neutral, disciplined and accountable in translating the law into democratic practice.
The meeting gathered national commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the zone, directors from the national headquarters, administrative secretaries, heads of department and electoral officers. “You are the human bridge translating the Electoral Act 2026 into democratic reality. Know the law, understand your responsibility, maintain absolute neutrality, document every action, and protect the integrity of the ballot,” Amupitan told the assembled officials.
Addressing staff welfare, the chairman said INEC was at an advanced stage of implementing the newly approved Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS). The commission has approved enhanced salaries, hazard and field allowances, and a 150 percent increase in monthly overheads to state offices, effective 1 July 2026.
On logistics, Amupitan announced the distribution of operational pick‑up vehicles to state and local government area offices, the procurement of 20 sports utility vehicles for RECs, and new vehicles for administrative secretaries.
Regarding technology, the commission is configuring 57,000 newly procured Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and auditing electronic result management systems to ensure transparent transmission of polling‑unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV). Printable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and a digital PVC location portal have been activated, with the preliminary register of voters already published for public display. The certified Register of Voters is slated for release on 15 December 2026.
Amupitan noted that the 2027 general election will involve more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units. The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for 16 January 2027, followed by governorship and State House of Assembly elections on 6 February 2027. He pointed to recent elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun, the FCT Area Council elections and 16 by‑elections as test runs for the upcoming nationwide polls, and directed that no staff take annual leave until after the elections are concluded.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>