2027 Elections: INEC Suspends Annual Staff Leave, Unveils New Salary, Logistics Reforms
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has directed its personnel to suspend further annual leave as preparations intensify for the 2027 general elections, warning that negligence, partisanship, absenteeism and financial misconduct will attract disciplinary sanctions.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, gave the directive on Friday in Lokoja, Kogi State, during the Commission’s North-Central Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 General Election.
He said the directive was necessary to ensure maximum workforce availability, administrative discipline and operational efficiency as the Commission prepares to conduct elections involving more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units nationwide.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
Addressing officials and field personnel from the six North-Central states and the Federal Capital Territory, Amupitan warned that all electoral officers must demonstrate professionalism, political neutrality and commitment to their responsibilities.
He directed Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and Administrative Secretaries to enforce strict attendance and accountability measures, stressing that the Commission would not tolerate conduct capable of undermining electoral credibility.
Beyond the disciplinary measures, the INEC chairman announced a series of salary, welfare and logistical reforms designed to improve staff motivation and strengthen the Commission’s operational capacity.
He disclosed that the new Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), which replaced the conventional civil service salary structure, took effect from January 1, 2026, while processes for its cash-backing were ongoing.
According to him, the Commission has also approved enhanced salary, hazard and field allowances for personnel, alongside a 150 per cent increase in monthly overhead allocations to state offices, effective July 1, 2026.
On logistics, Amupitan said operational pick-up vehicles had been distributed to state and Local Government Area offices nationwide, while 20 Sports Utility Vehicles had been procured for Resident Electoral Commissioners.
He added that Administrative Secretaries would also receive new vehicles to facilitate effective coordination and supervision of electoral activities.
On technological preparedness, the chairman disclosed that INEC was configuring its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), including 57,000 newly procured devices, to enhance voter verification and accreditation during the elections.
He said electronic result management platforms, including the eEC8A verification system, were undergoing audits to ensure transparent transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
The Commission has also activated Printable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and a digital PVC Location Portal to improve voter access.
Amupitan further disclosed that the preliminary voters’ register had been published for public scrutiny, while the certified Register of Voters would be released on December 15, 2026.
Addressing concerns over photographs appearing on the preliminary register, he explained that the data remained subject to verification before the final register was published.
He emphasised that technological investments must be supported by strict adherence to operational procedures, warning that administrative lapses, technical failures and poor staff conduct could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
On election security, the INEC chairman announced an expanded intelligence-led coordination framework under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), tagged the “ICCES Tentacle”.
The framework is designed to extend security coordination from the national level to Local Government Areas and Registration Area Centres, with emphasis on identifying potential flashpoints, protecting electoral personnel and equipment, and ensuring voters can access polling units without intimidation.
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He listed the military, police, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Customs, Immigration, Nigerian Correctional Service and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) among the agencies involved in the security arrangements.
The Commission, he added, would deploy Electoral Risk Management tools to identify potential security threats and seasonal risk factors ahead of election day.
Amupitan warned that anyone who threatened, intimidated or harmed ad-hoc electoral personnel, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members or permanent staff would face the full weight of the law.
He also identified misinformation, fabricated media content and artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes as emerging threats to electoral credibility.
According to him, transparent administration and efficient field operations remain the most effective responses to false narratives, noting that delayed opening of polling units, technical failures and misconduct by electoral officials could create opportunities for misinformation and public distrust.
The Lokoja meeting marked the conclusion of INEC’s nationwide zonal readiness assessment, following similar engagements across the South-West, North-West, South-East, North-East and South-South geopolitical zones.
Amupitan disclosed that the North-Central zone, comprising Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau states, as well as the FCT, had a combined 15,448,869 registered voters.
The breakdown showed that Benue had 2,777,727 registered voters, Plateau 2,787,273, Niger 2,698,344, Kogi 1,932,654, Nasarawa 1,899,244, Kwara 1,698,627 and the FCT 1,655,000.
He described the zone as strategically important to the national electoral process, particularly because of Kogi State’s geographical position and connections with neighbouring states.
The chairman said the assessment was intended to identify operational weaknesses, incorporate local challenges into national planning and prevent voter disenfranchisement resulting from administrative or logistical failures.
He further disclosed that INEC had completed nine of the 14 major milestones in its statutory timetable, stressing that the remaining activities required greater attention as the elections approached.
Reviewing the Commission’s recent electoral activities, Amupitan said the conduct of governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states, FCT Area Council elections and 16 bye-elections under his administration had provided opportunities to test and improve its operational arrangements.
In his welcome address, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Kogi State, Dr. Alhaji Shehu L. Wahab, said the state office was intensifying preparations despite additional responsibilities arising from the restoration of 12 previously suppressed State Constituencies.
He disclosed that internal preparations, including Electoral Risk Management activities, election monitoring, security coordination and awareness programmes for persons with disabilities, were ongoing.
Wahab added that the commission was collaborating with security agencies to address perceptions of Kogi as a violence-prone state during elections.
The engagement followed a courtesy visit by the INEC chairman to the Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers on Thursday, during which he sought the support of traditional institutions for voter mobilisation, peaceful political participation and efforts to counter electoral misinformation.
The two-day meeting brought together National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, directors, Administrative Secretaries, heads of departments, Electoral Officers and other personnel to assess operational preparedness and strengthen coordination between the Commission’s headquarters and field offices.
Earlier, the Director of Planning and Monitoring, Mrs. Helen Ajayi, said the assessment was designed to evaluate state preparedness, identify logistical and operational challenges, improve staff motivation and monitor the implementation of the Commission’s strategic plans.
She urged Electoral Officers and other field personnel to cooperate with assessment teams and work closely with the Planning and Monitoring Department to identify gaps and ensure effective implementation of planned activities.
Amupitan stressed that the success and credibility of the 2027 general elections would depend not only on technology and logistics but also on the discipline, neutrality, welfare and professional conduct of the personnel responsible for delivering the polls.
By PRNigeria
