- Reduces BVAS threshold to 850 voters per unit
By Myke Uzendu
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan(SAN), has warned that threats, intimidation or harm against election personnel ahead of the 2027 general elections will attract the full weight of the law.
Amupitan gave the warning over he weekend during an engagement with election stakeholders in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as part of INEC’s readiness assessment for the South-South geopolitical zone.
He said the commission was determined to protect its ad-hoc personnel, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and permanent staff from attacks, intimidation and other forms of electoral violence.
The chairman said INEC had strengthened its security collaboration through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), including an intelligence-led framework known as “ICCES Tentacle”.
According to him, the framework is designed to improve intelligence gathering, coordination and response to security threats before, during and after elections.
The South-South engagement was the fifth zonal assessment, following similar exercises in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East. The zone comprises 123 local government areas across six states.
Amupitan disclosed that the South-South has 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of Nigeria’s national voter register. Rivers State accounts for 3,736,434 registered voters across its 23 local government areas.
He said INEC had completed nine of the 14 critical milestones for the 2027 elections, scheduled for January 16 for presidential and National Assembly elections, and February 6 for governorship and state assembly elections.
The INEC chairman also assured Nigerians that the commission was taking steps to address the persistent problem of late arrival of election materials at polling units.
During a visit to the Paramount Ruler of Port Harcourt, Barr. Uchechukwu Isaiah Elikwu, Eze Epara Rebisi XII, on Friday, October 30, Amupitan said the commission was determined to ensure timely deployment of materials and personnel.
He disclosed that INEC had finalised a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime Transporters Union to improve logistics for riverine and coastal communities. The commission had also distributed pickup vehicles to strengthen operational capacity.
