ECOWAS Meets INEC, Assesses Preparedness Ahead Of 2027 General Elections.
By Ferdinand Olise
The ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission has held a high-level consultations with Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
The meeting aimed at providing an opportunity to assess Nigeria’s level of preparedness, identify potential challenges and underscore the importance of credible, transparent and peaceful elections as a cornerstone of democratic stability in Nigeria and West African sub-region.
Led by the Head of the Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission and former Vice President of Sierra Leone, H.E. Victor Bockarie FOH, the ECOWAS delegation was received at INEC’s headquarters in Abuja by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, together with the National Commissioners and senior management.
The ECOWAS team engaged with INEC on key issues affecting electoral integrity and public confidence which include stakeholder communication, misinformation and disinformation, AI-generated content, cybersecurity, electoral funding, youth participation, voter education, logistics and election security.
The delegation stressed the need to turn security assessments and early-warning information into preventive action, protect electoral personnel and voters, and communicate electoral procedures and results promptly and transparently.
In his remarks, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to impartiality, transparency and strict compliance with the electoral legal framework, stressing that the Commission favours no candidate or political party.
Prof. Amupitan outlined the progress in continuous voter registration, preparations to publish the final voters’ register, and improvements to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
He said the lessons from recent off-cycle elections, planned mock accreditation exercises, better personnel welfare and stronger accountability mechanisms would guide efforts to make the electoral process more efficient and credible.
Prof Amupitan also reiterated INEC’s commitment to working with security agencies and other stakeholders to improve operational coordination, deepen engagement and make its electoral systems more reliable.
Meanwhile, the importance of sustained institutional preparedness, inclusive stakeholder engagement and proactive risk mitigation in safeguarding the credibility of Nigeria’s 2027 General Elections, we’re also highlighted.
