THE Independent National Electoral Commission has cautioned that delays in amending the Electoral Act could disrupt aspects of the timetable for the 2027 general elections, although it reaffirmed its readiness to conduct the polls.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN), raised the concern yesterday during the commission’s first quarterly consultative meeting with civil society organisations in Abuja.
He explained that while the commission has finalised its election timetable based on the existing legal framework, any changes arising from amendments to the Electoral Act may necessitate adjustments.
According to Amupitan, INEC has already submitted its proposals to the National Assembly but remains bound to operate under the current law until the amendment process is completed.
He urged lawmakers to accelerate work on the bill to provide certainty ahead of the 2027 elections.
Despite the uncertainty, the INEC chairman assured Nigerians of the commission’s preparedness and announced plans to conduct a nationwide voter revalidation exercise ahead of the polls, describing a credible voters’ register as central to free, fair and transparent elections.
Amupitan also called on civil society groups to intensify voter mobilisation efforts in the Federal Capital Territory, particularly ahead of the Area Council elections scheduled for February 21, 2026.
He noted that the ongoing Permanent Voter Card distribution in the FCT would end on February 10 and warned against voter disenfranchisement.
Providing updates on the FCT elections, he said over 1.68 million registered voters would cast ballots across 2,822 polling units in the six area councils, with 570 candidates contesting various positions.
He added that INEC had completed the recruitment and training of ad hoc staff and was configuring BVAS devices for accreditation and result upload to the IReV portal.
The INEC chairman also confirmed that bye-elections would be held the same day in constituencies in Rivers and Kano states.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has dismissed claims that the National Assembly is deliberately delaying the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, said the delay was procedural, expressing optimism that harmonisation of the bill would be completed next week.
