By: Ganiyu Olayinka
Funding and security worries
With about 100 days left before the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Police Force have both flagged funding and security as growing worries. INEC is entering the last stretch of preparations for what is expected to be one of the largest electoral exercises in the country’s history.
INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan used a World Press Conference and National Stakeholders’ Meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, 6 October, to urge the quick release of the commission’s outstanding budget. He said the money is needed to finish key procurement and logistics work, and that further releases would keep the final phase of preparations on track. The police said the wider security crisis had left parts of the country gripped by fear.
INEC listed vote-buying, election-related disinformation, deepfakes, logistics, insecurity and late release of funds as the main threats to the credibility of the polls. The police said clearance operations were underway around Kogi, Niger, Benue and Taraba states to stabilise areas seen as vulnerable.
Preparations and equipment
Amupitan said INEC had moved from planning and tendering into production, delivery and construction. Contracts have been awarded for more BVAS devices, voting cubicles and ballot boxes, and some of the new devices have already arrived. Work is continuing on dedicated BVAS storage facilities and local council offices, and solar power installations for INEC offices have been contracted.
The commission plans to field 57,000 new BVAS machines and introduce AI-based monitoring tools. It also set up an AI Division within its ICT Department. A six-day stress test of the configured devices is scheduled for 23 to 28 October.
On staffing, INEC says it needs 707,384 ad hoc personnel for each of the two election days, 16 January and 6 February, which amounts to 1,414,768 engagements across the 176,846 polling units. Amupitan argued that better pay was necessary if the commission wanted to hold its staff accountable, and said INEC had taken steps to improve their welfare.
Reaching every polling unit, including remote riverine and mountainous communities, remains a major challenge. Amupitan said INEC had worked out a multi-modal logistics plan, drawing on partnerships with transport unions that give it access to more than 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats.
The candidates
Political parties submitted 36 presidential and vice-presidential nominees, which means 18 of the 22 registered parties will field presidential candidates. Accord, APGA and the Youth Party did not nominate anyone, and the NNPP withdrew its presidential nomination during the substitution window.
For the National Assembly, 21 of the 22 parties sponsored candidates: 1,313 for the Senate and 3,547 for the House of Representatives, a total of 4,860.
The voter register
The national register has grown to 103,428,715 voters after a three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise and a biometric clean-up. INEC says 10,772,421 new voters were added. Male voters make up 51.75 per cent of the register and female voters 48.25 per cent.
Lagos has the most registered voters at 7,488,633, followed by Kano (6,570,276), Kaduna (4,662,640), Katsina (3,876,051) and Rivers (3,736,434). The smallest registers are in Ekiti (1,055,708), Bayelsa (1,200,691), the FCT (1,732,043), Yobe (1,733,671) and Gombe (1,768,566).
By zone, the North-West has the largest share with 25.08 million voters, about 24.25 per cent. The South-West follows with 19.61 million (18.96 per cent), then the North-Central with 16.97 million (about 16.4 per cent), the South-South with 15.82 million (15.3 per cent) and the South-East with 11.98 million (11.58 per cent), the lowest.
INEC has said Permanent Voter Card collection begins on 9 October, and the register will be displayed from 9 to 15 October so citizens can raise claims and objections.
Security plans
Inspector-General of Police Disu, represented by Assistant Inspector-General Alinyenu Idu, said security agencies were already reviewing the national security situation. He said the force was deploying operational and tactical assets to stop the election from becoming a source of violence, with arrangements covering polling units, the movement and protection of materials, collation centres and the final stages of result management.
He added that the police had carried out an after-action review of earlier elections and responded to public complaints about officers’ conduct. Allegations of drunkenness among deployed personnel had been looked into, he said, stressing that alcohol is not part of officers’ election supplies.
Reactions
European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS Gautier Mignot called the elections a crucial moment for Nigerian democracy and urged stakeholders to back INEC in delivering credible polls. He said the commission faces an enormous task that depends not only on its officials but on the hundreds of thousands of Nigerians who will be deployed on election day. He said recent off-cycle elections suggested INEC had made efforts to improve public trust, and that the EU mission would build on its recommendations from 2023.
Senate Committee on Electoral Matters Chairman Simon Lalong said the credibility of the election would depend on INEC, parties, candidates, security agencies, the media, civil society and voters alike. He urged parties and candidates to follow the rules, focus on issues and behave peacefully.
Amupitan said the final 100 days would be decisive in ensuring the election is not only successfully conducted but also meets global standards of transparency, integrity and peaceful participation.
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