The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that winners of the 2027 general elections will be determined by the votes of the electorate.

This is as it tasked members of the Guild of Online Publishers (GOCOP) and the media in general to support the efforts to deepen democracy through a thorough democratic process ahead of the upcoming election.

The declaration was made on Thursday by the chairman of INEC, Professor Joash Amupitan, while delivering the keynote address at the 10th annual conference of GOCOP, held at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

Speaking on the theme of the conference, “2027 Elections: Trust, Transparency and Shared Responsibilities”, he declared that INEC does not have a preferred candidate, party or is the electoral umpire protecting any kind of institutional interest.

He said: “Let me tell you, on behalf of the commission, that in the 2027 election, by the grace of God, what will determine the winner would be the votes of Nigerians, and the will of Nigerians will prevail.”

The INEC chairman who was represented by Professor Ayobami Salami, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC, in Lagos, asserted that the ultimate success of the 2027 general election would not be measured merely by the deployment of men and equipment, but also by the transparency of the process and the credibility of the outcomes and the sheer commitment of all stakeholders to safeguard the sanctity of the ballot box.

“Under my leadership, the Independent National Electoral Commission stands firm on an unshakeable promise, our sole allegiance is to the constitution and the law and our absolute obligation is to the Nigerian people.

“INEC has no preferred candidate, no favoured political party and no institutional interest, other than protecting the sacred and uncoerced will of Nigerian voters,” he stated further.

Charging online publishers to be part of the process of making the 2027 election a success, the chairman said so much depended on the information infrastructure maintained by the media, particularly online publishers with regard to the election.

Amupitan pointed out the importance of the information infrastructure, warning that election windows were increasingly targeted by coordinated information warfare, political violence narratives, synthetic media, and AI-generated deepfakes designed to inflame passion and undermine institutional legitimacy.

He therefore charged the media to confront information disorder, reject clickbait economics and remain the frontline stewards of truth.

He stated that fake news, unverified leaks, and sensationalised reports directly destroys public trust, incite civil unrest, and induce voter apathy.

“When an unverified claim regarding electoral fraud is published, the damage to public confidence is immediate and enduring; subsequent retractions or fact-checks rarely repair the injury,” he reasoned.

Speaking on the clickbait economics, he warned against the temptation of allowing speed to supersede accuracy.

“Being first with a false story is a costly failure; being accurate with a verified fact is a public service,” he argued.

He added: “As corporate publishers with structured editorial boards, GOCOP members act as the primary filter between raw internet noise and public understanding. When operational delays occur in the field, responsible reporting provides context and seeks official verification rather than weaponising logistical hiccups to declare systemic collapse.”

Addressing editors and media leaders in general, the INEC chairman said as PVC collection opens across the country on Friday, “Let us write a definitive chapter of operational excellence, journalistic integrity, civic maturity, and unassailable institutional trust together.”

Amupitan used the opportunity of the occasion to explain the level of preparedness of his commission ahead of the 2027 general election, stating that it had, over the past 14 months, undertaken multidimensional structural, technological, and logistical overhauls to build a strong foundation for the election.

Some of the steps taken, he said, included the issuance of the Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Elections, on 26th February 2026.

He disclosed that the commission had been executing grassroots deployment across over 176,000 polling units nationwide.

He stated too that in compliance with Section 10 of the Electoral Act 2026, the commission conducted a three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

He said following the conclusion of field capture, the commission completed the public display of the Preliminary Register of Voters across all Registration Areas for claims and objections.

He said: “Currently, our Information Communication Technology Department is completing the generation of the official PDF Register of Voters for nationwide display, alongside the final synchronisation of CVR data through our Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to eliminate duplicate registrations. Nigeria’s National Register of Voters is now at the historic milestone of 103 million registered citizens.

“Having completed the processing and printing of new voter cards using our newly introduced Printable PVC technology, the nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) will officially commence tomorrow, Friday, 9th October 2026—the day immediately following this conference. We appeal to GOCOP and the online publisher community to leverage your expansive platforms to educate, mobilise, and direct registered citizens across the 36 states and the FCT to collect their cards at designated Local Government offices and Registration Area Centers seamlessly.”

He explained that technology remained INEC’s primary bulwark against manual manipulation and administrative fraud, stressing that building on hard lessons from previous election cycles, the commission has instituted major structural and firmware upgrades to it technological suite as follows:

“Upgraded Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS): The BVAS devices have undergone rigorous hardware optimisation, extended battery calibration, and software hardening to ensure instant facial and fingerprint accreditation, eliminating voter impersonation and bypass attempts. The Commission has launched a nationwide BVAS audit to ensure the devices are operational and deployment-ready. We have also procured additional BVAS based on the Commission’s needs.

“Building on successful field deployments in recent off-cycle elections in the FCT, Ekiti, and Osun, our enhanced eEC8A protocol digitises polling unit result sheets (Form EC8A) directly at the polling unit immediately after counting. The scanned form is cryptographically signed and transmitted simultaneously to the public view portal, ensuring complete, end-to-end result visibility that eliminates opportunities for manual alteration at intermediate collation points.

“In strategic partnership with global technological leaders, including Google and Microsoft, we have embedded automated AI data-auditing tools and multi-layered firewalls to shield our databases against cyber intrusions, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and unauthorised data injection”, he explained.

Pointing out that logistical failure is the quickest destroyer of public confidence on Election Day, he said measures had been put in place to prevent this.

According to Amupitan, some of the measures put in place included the commencement of the procurement and physical delivery of non-sensitive electoral materials to all 36 state offices and the FCT; the institution of a central operation activity schedule that tracks material movement, storage security, and vehicle tracking in real time across every state command center.

He said to remove financial vulnerability and reward dedication, the commission had operationalised the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure, CEMBSS and the launch of an intensified public enlightenment campaign across traditional, digital, and grassroots communication channels.

“Our voter education strategy focuses on demystifying voting procedures, accreditation requirements, BVAS mechanics, PVC collection workflows, and Election Day regulations. Crucially, this strategy incorporates customised outreach networks to ensure full inclusion,” he declared.

•PHOTO, L-R: Chairman of the GOCOP Conference 2026, Chief Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, along with Prof. Ayobami Salami, the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner and the representative of the keynote speaker, INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, on the red carpet during Thursday’s event held in Radisson Blu Hotel Ikeja, Lagos.

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