The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that preparations for the 2027 General Election have moved from planning to execution, with 100 days to the first ballot.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Tuesday at a World Press Conference and National Stakeholders' Meeting to mark 100 days to the 2027 polls at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre (BAT-ICC), Abuja.
Amupitan said the 100-day milestone is a call to action and the beginning of the final phase of preparations to deliver an election that will serve as a global benchmark for transparency and credibility.
He said since assuming office on October 23, 2025, his administration has successfully conducted major off-cycle elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states, the FCT Area Council polls and several bye-elections, all of which passed integrity tests by local and international observers.
According to him, the Commission issued a Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities with 14 critical statutory milestones on February 26, 2026, out of which nine have been executed. He said the timeline has been synchronised across its 23 headquarters departments, 36 state offices, the FCT and 774 local government area offices.
The Chairman said the Federal Government has maintained timely release of statutory allocations, enabling the Commission to meet vendor obligations, produce election technology and upgrade infrastructure, but called for prompt release of the outstanding budget.
10.7m New Voters, Register Now 103m
On voter registration, Amupitan disclosed that three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) produced 10,772,421 new voters after Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) verification.
He gave the breakdown as: Phase I (August 25 – December 10, 2025) – 2,611,266; Phase II (January 5 – April 17, 2026) – 4,121,835; and Phase III (May 11 – July 26, 2026) – 3,867,997.
He said the National Register of Voters now stands at 103 million.
Lagos leads with 7,488,633 voters, followed by Kano with 6,570,276 and Kaduna with 4,662,640. At the bottom, Ekiti has the lowest with 1,055,708, followed by Bayelsa with 1,200,691 and the FCT with 1,732,043.
A breakdown shows male voters account for 53,528,218 (51.75%) and female 49,900,497 (48.25%). By age, voters aged 35-49 dominate with 43.2 million (41.83%), followed by 18-34 with 29.7 million (28.79%). Persons With Disabilities are 232,658, representing 0.23% of the register.
Amupitan said the Register will be displayed for claims and objections from October 9 to 15, 2026, in line with Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, while distribution of Phase 1 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to local government centres will commence on Friday, October 9, 2026.
He added that the Commission introduced an Online Registration Portal and Printable PVC technology for the first time in line with Section 18(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 to eliminate barriers of distance and waiting time. The final register will be presented to political parties on December 15, 2026.
Party Nominations, New Constituencies
The INEC Chairman said 18 out of 22 registered political parties submitted 36 presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Three parties – Accord, APGA and Youth Party – submitted none, while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) withdrew its nomination during the substitution window.
For the National Assembly, 21 parties sponsored 1,313 senatorial and 3,547 House of Representatives candidates. For governorship and State Houses of Assembly, 21 parties nominated 936 governorship/deputy governorship and 9,692 State Assembly candidates.
He said 112 complaints arising from the nomination process have been investigated and resolved, except those pending in court. The Commission, he added, has received the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgement in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party delivered on September 24, 2026, which affirmed Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act 2026.
Amupitan disclosed that 27 state constituencies were restored between June and August 2026 in Benue, Delta, Jigawa and Kogi states pursuant to court judgements, while two new constituencies – Warri South West II and Warri North II – were created in Delta State to implement a Supreme Court decision.
BVAS, Logistics, Security
On procurement, he said contracts have been awarded for 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, voting cubicles, ballot boxes and operational vehicles, while procurement for ballot papers and result sheets is near completion.
On logistics, he said INEC has renewed its Memorandum of Understanding with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) for over 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats, with specialised deployment for riverine and difficult terrains in the Niger Delta, Lake Chad Basin and other high-altitude areas.
He said sensitive materials will move from CBN vaults to LGAs 72 hours before polls and arrive at all 8,838 Registration Area Centres (RACs) by 4:00 p.m. on the eve of election to ensure polls open by 7:30 a.m. nationwide.
He added that BVAS devices have undergone software hardening and battery optimisation, while the enhanced eEC8A system will ensure result sheets are cryptographically authenticated and uploaded directly from polling units to the IReV portal. He noted that downloadable PVC technology was tested during the Osun election.
A nationwide mock accreditation exercise, he said, will hold in November 2026, while a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division has been established to detect cyber intrusions and combat disinformation, including deepfakes.
On security, Amupitan said INEC is working with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), EFCC, ICPC and NFIU to deploy joint financial monitoring teams against vote-buying, stressing that violators will face immediate arrest and prosecution.
He said the Commission requires 707,384 ad-hoc personnel for each of the two election days – January 16 and February 6, 2027 – totalling 1,414,768 engagements across 176,846 polling units. The INEC Portal for Recruitment of Election Staff (INECPRES) opened on September 18 and will close on November 18, 2026.
The Chairman said the media accreditation portal will go live before the end of October 2026 and warned against declaration of privately collated results, noting that under the Electoral Act, only INEC has the power to declare results.
"Our materials are in production, technology is undergoing rigorous quality assurance, our register is finalised for public display, and our workforce is being systematically trained," Amupitan said, reassuring Nigerians and the international community of INEC's commitment to neutrality and ballot integrity.
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