British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Pete Vowles, visited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja on a courtesy call to urge the country to use the 2027 general elections as a showcase of how a strong democracy can operate in a large, diverse nation.
Vowles, who said he had been in Nigeria for eight weeks, described the visit as an opportunity to familiarise himself with INEC’s operations and the preparations for the upcoming polls. “I wanted to recognise how much Nigeria’s democracy matters to Nigeria, to 240 million Nigerians, to the region and to the world,” he said.
He added that the forthcoming elections present a “really important opportunity for Nigeria to showcase to the world how a strong democracy in a large, diverse country should operate.” The High Commissioner highlighted the significance of Nigeria’s democratic process for its citizens, the West African sub‑region and the international community.
INEC National Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan assured the international community that the commission would conduct credible and inclusive polls in 2027. He said restoring public trust, enhancing operational efficiency and safeguarding the integrity of every ballot were the central pillars of his administration.
“The integrity of Nigeria’s democracy matters not only to our citizens but to the peace, stability and economic growth of the entire West African sub‑region and the African continent,” Amupitan said.
- Election cyber‑security architecture
- Specialised capacity building for commission personnel
- Joint initiatives to counter AI‑driven manipulation, disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI)
Amupitan also highlighted INEC’s intensive permanent voter card (PVC) collection drive, which is decentralised across all 774 local government areas down to the ward registration level, and measures to protect candidate nominations under Section 29 of the Electoral Act 2026 through the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal (ICNP). He called for expanded strategic collaboration with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other development partners as 2027 approaches.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
