The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced a 150 per cent increase in operational overheads for its state offices as part of measures to strengthen preparations for the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja while receiving the ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission at the commission’s national headquarters.

Amupitan said the commission had also secured approval for the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), which removed its workforce from the regular civil service salary structure.

He said the improved welfare package was aimed at strengthening the commitment and efficiency of electoral personnel, stressing that it would be matched with zero tolerance for administrative negligence, extortion and partisan conduct.

The INEC chairman said the commission was intensifying preparations for the 2027 elections, disclosing that nine of the 14 major statutory milestones in its revised timetable had been successfully completed.

He said the commission had concluded three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and completed the physical display of the preliminary register of voters at registration areas nationwide.

According to him, the preliminary register had also been uploaded to a dedicated online portal to enable Nigerians scrutinise the list and make claims or objections ahead of the certification of the final register scheduled for December 15, 2026.

Amupitan disclosed that Nigeria’s national register of voters had exceeded 103 million, adding that the commission would deploy personnel and technological resources across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He listed the areas covered as 774 local government areas, 8,809 registration areas and 176,846 polling units.

He said the presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on January 16, 2027, while the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections were scheduled for February 6, 2027.

The INEC chairman said the commission had adopted a field-based approach to assessing its preparedness through zonal readiness assessment tours across the six geopolitical zones.

He said assessments had been completed in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East, adding that the South-South assessment would take place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

According to him, the exercise was designed to engage electoral officers, inspect logistics and infrastructure, and consult traditional and community leaders on preparations for the polls.

On technology, Amupitan said the commission would deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for fingerprint and facial biometric accreditation.

He added that electronic result management systems, including the newly introduced eEC8A electronic verification platform, would support transparent result management alongside the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

On election security, he said INEC was working with security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), involving the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Armed Forces.

He said the commission had operationalised an intelligence-driven framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle” to identify and address security risks around the country’s 176,846 polling units.

Amupitan explained that the framework would also protect election personnel, particularly members of the National Youth Service Corps, and guarantee access to polling units for all voters, including persons with disabilities.

He called for stronger collaboration with ECOWAS, particularly in deploying long-term and short-term election observers, sharing technical expertise and tackling electoral disinformation.

He also urged political parties, civil society organisations, the media and security agencies to play their respective roles in ensuring peaceful and credible elections.

Amupitan said the commission welcomed the mission’s findings and recommendations, adding that its observations would help improve INEC’s operational plans ahead of the elections.

He assured the delegation that the commission remained impartial, declaring that INEC had no preferred candidate or political party.

“Our sole allegiance is to the rule of law, the sovereign will of the Nigerian electorate, and the democratic progress of our nation,” he said.

The ECOWAS delegation was led by Victor Bockarie Foh, former Vice-President of Sierra Leone, while Dr Abbas Chernor Bundu, former Executive Secretary of ECOWAS and former Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament, served as co-head of the mission.

Also on the delegation was Ambassador Francess Piagie Alghali, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security.