The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will publish the certified Register of Voters for the 2027 general elections on December 15, its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said.

Amupitan has also directed all commission staff currently on leave to resume duty, warning that no staff member would be allowed to proceed on leave until after the elections.

He spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lokoja, where he said the commission had completed its nationwide operational readiness assessment ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The INEC chairman disclosed that nine of the 14 major statutory milestones in the election timetable had been achieved.

He warned that negligence, partisanship, absenteeism and financial impropriety would attract swift disciplinary action.

Amupitan said the assessment was designed to identify operational weaknesses ahead of election day, incorporate local challenges into national planning and prevent the disenfranchisement of voters through administrative or logistical failures.

According to him, the remaining preparations require greater attention as the elections approach, particularly given the scale of the exercise, which will involve more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units.

He said the commission’s recent conduct of governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections and 16 legislative by-elections had provided useful testing grounds for the 2027 general elections.

The INEC chairman charged staff to maintain strict political neutrality and professional discipline, noting that the Electoral Act 2026 provides for a formal Oath of Neutrality under Section 26.

“You are the human bridge translating the Electoral Act 2026 into democratic reality. Know the law, understand your responsibility, maintain absolute neutrality, document every action, and protect the integrity of the ballot,” he told the staff.

On the commission’s technological preparations, Amupitan said INEC was configuring its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, including 57,000 newly procured units, while electronic result management systems were undergoing audits to ensure transparent transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

He also announced that Printable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and a digital PVC Location Portal had been activated, while the preliminary register of voters had been published for public display.

Addressing concerns over photographs appearing on the preliminary register, Amupitan said the data remained subject to verification before publication of the final register.

On logistics, he said operational pick-up vehicles had been distributed to state and local government offices, while 20 Sports Utility Vehicles had been procured for Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs). Administrative Secretaries would also receive new vehicles.

The chairman disclosed that the commission had increased monthly overhead allocations to state offices by 150 per cent, effective July 1, 2026, to strengthen their operational capacity.

He added that INEC was at an advanced stage of implementing the newly approved Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), alongside enhanced salary, hazard and field allowances.

On security, Amupitan unveiled an intelligence-led framework under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), known as the “ICCES Tentacle”, designed to extend security coordination from the national headquarters to local government areas and Registration Area Centres.

He warned that anyone attempting to threaten, intimidate or harm electoral personnel, including members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving as ad-hoc staff, would face the full weight of the law.

The INEC chairman also cautioned against fake news, disinformation and the growing use of artificial intelligence to manipulate electoral information, saying the commission’s commitment to transparency and professional conduct would remain its strongest defence.

“When our field execution is flawless, and our data pipeline is clear, no digital algorithm can displace the physical reality of a transparent vote,” he said.

Amupitan described Kogi State as a strategic electoral gateway because of its geographical position and boundaries with 10 states and the FCT.

He said the North-Central zone had 15,448,869 registered voters, with Kogi accounting for 1,932,654.

Benue had 2,777,727 registered voters, Plateau 2,787,273, Niger 2,698,344, Nasarawa 1,899,244, Kwara 1,698,627 and the FCT 1,655,000.

Earlier, the Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Shehu Wahab, said the commission was intensifying preparations for the elections despite additional responsibilities arising from the restoration of 12 previously suppressed state constituencies.

Wahab said the state office was working with security agencies to address concerns over electoral violence and improve the security environment ahead of the polls.

The Director of Planning and Monitoring, Mrs Helen Ajayi, said the readiness assessment was designed to evaluate operational preparedness, identify logistical challenges and motivate staff.

She identified Electoral Risk Management (ERM) as an important tool for mapping vulnerable areas and called for greater involvement of traditional rulers in grassroots mobilisation for the 2027 elections.

In a related development, Amupitan visited the Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers on Thursday, where he sought the support of traditional institutions in promoting peaceful elections and greater voter participation.

He appealed to the royal fathers to assist INEC in mobilising residents to collect their PVCs, discouraging electoral violence and political thuggery, and combating misinformation, including deepfakes generated through artificial intelligence.

The chairman said PVC collection was being decentralised across the 774 local government areas, including all 21 in Kogi State, with collection points moved closer to citizens at ward level.

He assured the traditional rulers that INEC remained politically neutral, declaring that the commission had no candidate in the elections.

Responding on behalf of the council, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, His Royal Majesty Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Muhammad, pledged the traditional institution’s cooperation with the commission and urged the INEC chairman to uphold fairness, transparency, accountability and the rule of law.

The visit also featured the commissioning of a newly constructed BVAS storage facility in Lokoja.

Amupitan said the facility was designed to address problems associated with improper storage and inadequate cooling of the devices, adding that dedicated storage infrastructure would help preserve battery life, maintain optimal performance and extend their lifespan.

He commended the Kogi State INEC office for the initiative and said the commission would work with its ICT Department to address outstanding requirements, including the Installation of equipment racks. (The Nation)