Members of the House of Representatives have invited Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to brief them on the umpire’s readiness for the 2027 general election.
The invitation was sequel to a motion co-sponsored by Mansur
Soro (APM, Bauchi) and Abdussamad Dasuki (ADC, Sokoto) during plenary on
Wednesday.
Soro, the motion’s lead sponsor, told his colleague that the
credibility, transparency, and acceptability of the 2027 elections would
largely depend on INEC’s preparations, including voter registration, voter
education, personnel training, security coordination, and the timely
implementation of the election timetable.
He expressed concerns about operational challenges reported
at some continuous voter registration (CVR) centres nationwide, including
inadequate registration equipment, staff shortages, network disruptions, and
long waiting times.
Soro said these challenges could restrict access to voter
registration, particularly for first-time voters, rural residents, persons with
disabilities, students and workers, if not addressed promptly.
The lawmaker said the recently concluded Ekiti governorship
election offers useful lessons on election administration, technology
deployment, logistics management, stakeholder engagement, security, and voter
participation, which should guide preparations for the forthcoming general
election.
The legislator said early institutional preparedness is
crucial to procuring election materials on time, deploying technology,
recruiting and training personnel, conducting effective voter education,
planning security, assessing electoral risks, and managing logistics
nationwide.
“Any delay in addressing existing operational gaps in voter
registration, logistics, technology deployment and funding may adversely affect
public confidence in the electoral process and compromise the peaceful conduct
of the 2027 general election,” he said.
He asked lawmakers to invite Amupitan to, within seven days,
brief the house on the commission’s readiness for the 2027 elections, including
progress of continuous voter registration, the status of PVC production and
distribution, the readiness of election technology and logistics, mapping of
challenging areas, recruitment and training status of election officials,
budgetary appropriations, funds released, outstanding releases and the
implications of any funding gaps on implementation timelines.
However, Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker, rejected the demand
that Amupitan should brief lawmakers during plenary.
Kalu proposed that Amupitan appear before the committee on
electoral matters, and any lawmaker may attend the session.
The deputy speaker’s proposal passed when Tajudeen Abbas,
the speaker, put it to a voice vote.
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