2027: INEC Declares End of Results Manipulation, Reveals New Voting Measures

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians that election result manipulation and ballot box snatching will no longer determine outcomes in future elections, declaring that stronger legal and technological systems are now in place ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), made this known on Wednesday in Abuja during a meeting with the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, who paid a courtesy visit to the commission’s headquarters.

The meeting focused largely on strengthening collaboration between both agencies, especially in the area of voter education and public awareness before the 2027 elections.

Amupitan said Nigeria’s electoral system has undergone major changes in recent years, noting that technology has significantly reduced the chances of electoral malpractice.

According to him, systems such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) have improved transparency and made it increasingly difficult for election results to be altered manually.

The INEC chairman also reminded Nigerians that preparations for the 2027 elections are already underway, with the presidential election scheduled for January 16, while governorship elections will take place on February 6, 2027.

He stressed that beyond deploying technology, public trust and voter participation remain critical to the success of the elections.

He said, **“We need to teach them why their vote matters and how our new legal and technological safeguards protect their choices. We must look the rural farmer, the marketplace woman, and the disillusioned urban youth in the eye and explain to them, in the language they understand, that because of the current technological infrastructure, the era of snatching ballot boxes or rewriting results manually is gone.”**

Amupitan acknowledged the progress recorded during the February 21 Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections and the June 20 governorship election in Ekiti State.

He said those elections recorded major operational improvements, including early opening of polling units in over 90 percent of locations, successful biometric verification using BVAS, and faster upload of results to the IReV portal.

However, despite these gains, the INEC chairman said concerns remain over voter turnout and public understanding of the electoral process.

He noted that voter apathy remains a major challenge, especially in urban areas, where many eligible voters either stayed away or showed confusion over polling unit adjustments and voter transfer processes.

According to him, this points to a serious gap in voter education.

“This is a clear indicator that while our technology is moving forward, civic familiarity with the evolving system is lagging. It is a loud diagnostic signal that far more needs to be done in the area of intensive, deep-rooted voter education, and it proves that we cannot afford to wait until the eve of the 2027 polls to start talking to our people,” he said.

Amupitan maintained that technology alone cannot strengthen democracy if citizens remain disconnected from the electoral process.

He said voter confidence must be built through consistent education and direct engagement.

“We can purchase the finest BVAS machines, we can optimise the IReV to international standards, and we can map out the most logistical routes for material deployment. But all of these technological and administrative triumphs mean nothing if the citizens remain detached, cynical, or completely uneducated about the power of their votes.”

The INEC chairman described the NOA as a key partner in promoting civic responsibility and democratic participation across the country.

He said both institutions have a shared responsibility to educate Nigerians and encourage active participation in elections.

According to him, there is now a pressing need for a broad-based voter education campaign that reaches communities at the grassroots.

He also called for stronger campaigns against misinformation, fake news, and vote-buying ahead of the polls.

“Together, INEC and the NOA must rewrite this narrative. We need to co-create a decentralised, grassroots voter education campaign that goes beyond simply telling people when to vote,” Amupitan said.

He added that collaboration between both agencies has become necessary as the country moves closer to another election cycle.

Speaking further, Amupitan said civic engagement strategies must evolve to match current realities, especially with growing youth participation and the increasing role of digital communication.

He said traditional communication models are no longer enough to effectively reach modern voters.

“Our doors are wide open. We are ready to pool our resources, share our data, and give your teams all the institutional support required to make this collaboration a resounding success,” he said.

Earlier, NOA Director-General Lanre Issa-Onilu expressed concern over the low number of Nigerians participating in elections despite millions being registered to vote.

He said increasing voter turnout must now become a national priority.

According to him, NOA has continued engaging communities across the country to encourage citizens to take electoral participation more seriously.

“We are going into communities with our advocacy to the people.

“We both have in our hands civic education and voter education. We humbly seek support from INEC, which we are already having, but we believe it can be better. We need to increase the number of people who come out to vote. Those who come out to vote are very low compared to those on the register. We need to even let them know everything beyond the elections to ensure that Nigerians can keep track of cases in court,” he said.