Stakeholders in the electoral process have been urged to pay attention to innovations and reforms introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The call was made at a one-day town hall meeting convened by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in Kaduna to sensitise key actors on recent electoral innovations introduced by INEC to promote credible elections.
The forum brought together representatives from political parties, civil society organisations, security agencies, religious bodies, persons with disabilities (PWDs), youth groups, and the media.
Participants examined challenges from previous elections, reviewed the impact of electoral reforms, and discussed strategies to improve voter confidence and electoral transparency.
In his welcome address, PAACA Executive Director Ezenwa Nwagwu noted that the town hall aimed to discuss recent advancements in electoral processes since 2015 and urgent reform issues as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections.
He underlined the importance of evidence-based discussions, stating that the town hall was an opportunity to bridge knowledge gaps on key innovations by INEC to counter widespread misinformation, especially as the country prepares to enter political seasons.
In his address, Ezenwa reviewed the technological improvements made between 2015 and 2025, particularly highlighting the role of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in drastically reducing manipulation in the 2023 elections.
He also highlighted key innovations now mainstreamed by INEC, including the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV), Election Monitoring Dashboard, Political Party Financial Auditing System, the INECPRES portal for ad-hoc staff recruitment and the Voter Verification System (VVS)Technology, which allows voters to track their polling units online to reduce confusion on election day.
The PAACA executive director said innovations such as the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP—Web Version) have simplified political parties’ primary election nomination process and improved transparency.
He said, “Starting around the 2019 cycle and strengthened further by provisions in the Electoral Act 2022, INEC introduced online portals for political parties to submit the names and details of candidates who emerged from primaries. With strict deadlines, parties must upload results and supporting documents directly to the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal (ICNP).
“Before these reforms, the process of submitting candidates’ names to INEC was largely manual, paper-based, and, frankly, chaotic. Party leaders could swap names at the last minute, sometimes after candidates had genuinely won primaries. This led to endless court cases, bitter intra-party disputes, and a sense among party members that the real contest wasn’t at the primary but at the party headquarters, where lists could be doctored before submission.
“This shift achieved several important things: Reduced last-minute substitution. It has become harder for parties to change names outside the clear legal window because submissions were timestamped and stored electronically. It also improved transparency, ensuring that party members, journalists, and election monitors could follow the process more closely and spot when parties tried to bend the rules. It has also streamlined litigation. Courts could rely on digital records directly from INEC rather than conflicting letters from party factions.”
Addressing the gathering, Mr Danjuma Makama, the Kaduna State director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), urged stakeholders to take ownership of the electoral process by understanding and supporting reforms that promote free, fair, and credible elections.
He emphasised the agency’s role in shaping public perception and promoting informed electoral choices.
He stated that the 2023 elections revealed challenges and opportunities for growth and encouraged continuous engagement with citizens to foster better decision-making during elections.
Also speaking, Mr Ndan Nicholas Kure, Head of the Election Monitoring Unit at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), emphasised the need for synergy between electoral bodies, security agencies, and citizens to prevent violence and voter suppression.
He disclosed that INEC facilities were attacked across 15 states between 2019 and 2022, stressing the need for enhanced civic education, transparency, and public trust in the electoral process.
In his remarks, Mr Mikailu Abubakar, chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) in Kaduna, noted that electoral reform is not only necessary but essential to restore public trust.
He expressed hope that such engagements would inspire more inclusive and accountable practices going forward.
Participants at the town hall brainstormed actionable steps to deepen electoral accountability, tackle low voter turnout, and promote peaceful participation.
Some recommendations from the town hall include the need for transparency in INEC appointments, legal protection for technological tools like BVAS and IReV, early and fair accreditation of party agents, greater inclusion of women and PWDs in candidate selection processes, and the establishment of public situation rooms for real-time election monitoring.
