By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, has urged all stakeholders to unite in building consensus for credible elections and accountable governance, warning that the challenges hampering credible polls has continued to threaten the foundation of democracy.
The INEC boss who made the disclosure while delivering his keynote address at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room’s annual National Stakeholders’ Forum on Elections in Abuja on Wednesday, described theme of the event: “Securing Nigeria’s Democracy: Building Consensus for Credible Elections and Accountable Governance”, as a timely roadmap for the country’s democratic future.
“Credible elections are the undisputed foundation of democracy. When citizens believe their votes truly count, they empower themselves to demand the highest standards of accountability from leaders,” he said.
The INEC Chairman highlighted the transformative impact of technology introduced under the Electoral Act 2022, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
“BVAS has closed the door on over-voting and manual manipulation, while IReV has made election results available for public scrutiny on election day,” he stated.
However, he acknowledged that poor telecommunications network coverage in remote areas continues to hinder real-time upload of results from all 176,000 polling units. INEC, he said, is working closely with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and service providers and exploring alternative technologies and redundancy systems to address the challenge.
The INEC boss expressed serious concern over persistently low voter turnout, noting that only 27% of registered voters participated in the 2023 general elections.
He cited the recent Anambra State governorship election as a success story: after extending PVC collection across all 326 registration areas, INEC raised the collection rate from 63.9% to an impressive 98.8%.
“This shows what is possible when stakeholders collaborate to mobilise citizens,” he said, calling on civil society, community leaders, and the media to replicate such efforts nationwide.
The Chairman revealed that the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise recorded 2,685,725 completed registrations as of December 10, 2025, with 1.57 million starting online and 1.1 million completing physical capture.
Osun State led with 208,357 new registrants, followed by Kano (159,669), Sokoto (152,650), Imo (145,561), Borno (123,835), and Lagos (123,484).
He said that the first quarter of the exercise ended on Tuesday, December 10, and urged urged sustained mobilisation to ensure every eligible Nigerian is registered.
INEC announced that elections for the six Area Council chairmen and 62 councillors in the Federal Capital Territory will hold on Saturday, February 21, 2026, as the current tenure expires next year. Detailed information is already available on the commission’s website.
Prof. Amupitan reiterated INEC’s intensified collaboration with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to curb vote-buying and voter intimidation.
He called on civil society organisations, particularly the Situation Room, to monitor compliance and hold all actors, including political parties, accountable.
Quoting a leadership expert Simon Sinek who said, “Leadership is not about the next election, it’s about the next generation”, the INEC Chairman affirmed that Nigeria’s democratic future is bright if stakeholders remain committed to transparency, innovation, and the rule of law.
