- Announces November 28 Nationwide Mock Accreditation Exercise Ahead of 2027 Elections
By Princely Onyenwe | News Desk
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, has intensified efforts to rebuild public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral system, urging Nigerians to trust his leadership to deliver free, fair and credible elections in 2027, following a heated confrontation with Nigerian protesters outside Chatham House in London.
Amupitan made the appeal on Thursday, November 12, 2026, while speaking at a high-level dialogue organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) at Chatham House, London, under the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”
His engagement came amid growing public scrutiny of INEC’s neutrality and the credibility of Nigeria’s preliminary voters’ register, following allegations of irregularities, including duplicate registrations, suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs and questionable polling units.
The tension became more pronounced after Nigerian protesters, reportedly members of the diaspora community, surrounded the vehicle conveying the INEC chairman outside Chatham House on Thursday, demanding explanations over the alleged irregularities and calling for his resignation.
Videos circulating online showed demonstrators confronting the electoral chief, demanding that he step out of his vehicle and address their concerns. Some protesters also accused the Commission of compromising its independence and questioned its ability to conduct credible elections in 2027.
The confrontation has further highlighted the public confidence challenges facing INEC as it prepares for another general election, against the backdrop of controversies surrounding the 2023 presidential election.
Responding to concerns about public confidence, Amupitan acknowledged that the 2023 presidential election significantly damaged INEC’s reputation, admitting that the Commission had yet to fully recover from the resulting trust deficit.
He, however, argued that improvements recorded in subsequent off-cycle elections demonstrated his administration’s commitment to correcting operational weaknesses.
According to him, the Anambra and Osun governorship elections, Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, Ekiti governorship election and 16 legislative by-elections had provided opportunities to strengthen the electoral process.
He maintained that results in Anambra and Osun, which previously experienced prolonged and inconclusive governorship elections, were declared the day after voting under the improved arrangements.
On preparations for 2027, the INEC chairman identified insecurity, logistics and election result management as the Commission’s major priorities.
He disclosed that a post-election assessment of the 2023 general elections identified serious weaknesses at collation centres, rather than polling units alone, as a major source of result-management controversies.
Amupitan announced that INEC had introduced additional technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate polling-unit results and figures reflecting over-voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
He explained that the Commission was strengthening its existing electoral technology rather than introducing an entirely new system, considering the limited time available before the 2027 elections.
On the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), he disclosed that INEC had procured additional devices, reduced the maximum number of registered voters assigned to a single machine from 1,250 to 850 and commenced the construction of climate-controlled storage facilities across the states to prevent a recurrence of device malfunctions associated with extreme heat and storage conditions during the 2023 elections.
As part of the preparations, the Commission has fixed November 28, 2026, for a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise to test the upgraded BVAS and electronic result transmission systems ahead of the general elections.
The exercise, according to Amupitan, will simulate the presidential election and assess the Commission’s readiness to deliver a more reliable accreditation and result-transmission process.
The INEC chairman also addressed allegations questioning his political neutrality, including claims linking his telephone number to a controversial X account allegedly associated with partisan political activities.
He denied ever operating an X account, disclosing that an independent forensic examination had been obtained and the matter referred to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.
He further dismissed suggestions that his previous professional engagements as a lawyer in political disputes would compromise his impartiality, insisting that his loyalty remained with the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act.
On the controversy surrounding the preliminary voters’ register, INEC has also acknowledged the discovery of questionable registration records. The Commission recently disclosed the removal of 1,608,660 invalid registrations and the identification of 54 officials across 10 states for possible disciplinary action.
Nevertheless, the allegations raised by the London protesters underline the continuing demand for greater transparency and accountability in the management of Nigeria’s electoral database.
Amupitan, while addressing Nigerian youths, urged citizens to resist misinformation, verify information before sharing and remain actively involved in the democratic process.
The 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
With the 2027 general elections approaching, INEC faces the critical task of demonstrating that its announced reforms can translate into transparent, credible and verifiable electoral outcomes. The nationwide mock accreditation exercise scheduled for November 28 will provide an important opportunity to assess the Commission’s technological preparedness ahead of the polls.
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