2 March, 2026
The chairman of Nigeria’s electoral commission has told citizens to temper their expectations ahead of the 2027 general election, saying that operational constraints, particularly in remote areas, make a flawless exercise unrealistic.
Speaking at a citizens’ town hall broadcast live on major television networks on Sunday, Prof. Joash Amupitan said the Independent National Electoral Commission was committed to delivering its best performance but could not guarantee perfection. “INEC will strive as much as possible to give this country the best election,” he said. “However, we may not be able to achieve a 100 per cent perfect election for now.”
On the question of electronic transmission of results, which became one of the most bitterly contested issues in the aftermath of the 2023 elections, Amupitan said the commission had the capacity to transmit results in 2027 and intended to do so. The sticking point, he said, was not technology or network coverage in principle, but the practicality of achieving real-time transmission from Nigeria’s most inaccessible polling units.
He illustrated the challenge with a concrete example from the recent Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections. Five of the six area councils returned results on time, but a single ward in Kuje — Kabi ward, roughly three and a half hours from Kuje town across difficult terrain, went completely out of contact on election day. “The moment they entered that place, we could not reach them. They were not accessible by phone,” he said. Results from that ward did not arrive until the following morning.
