2027: INEC has no preferred candidate, party, Amupitan assures ECOWAS

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has assured Nigerians and the international community that the commission will not favour any candidate or political party in the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan gave the assurance on Friday during a meeting with a pre-election fact-finding mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by former Sierra Leone Vice-President, Victor Bockarie Foh, in Abuja.

The INEC chairman said the commission’s only commitment was to uphold the rule of law and ensure that the outcome of the elections reflected the will of the electorate.

“INEC under my watch has no candidate and no political party,” he said.

“Our sole allegiance is to the rule of law, the sovereign will of the Nigerian electorate, and the democratic progress of our nation.”

Amupitan disclosed that the commission was conducting readiness assessments across the country’s geopolitical zones as part of preparations for the elections.

He said the 2027 polls would be conducted across 8,809 registration areas and 774 local government areas, adding that the national voter register had surpassed 103 million.

According to him, INEC had completed nine of the 14 major statutory milestones outlined in its revised election timetable.

He said the commission had concluded three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and completed the nationwide physical display of the preliminary Register of Voters.

On electoral technology, Amupitan said INEC would deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for fingerprint and facial biometric verification, alongside electronic result management systems.

He added that the commission had introduced the eEC8A electronic verification platform to complement result management and verification through the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

On election security, he said INEC was working with relevant security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to ensure adequate protection before, during and after the polls.

Bar & Bench Watch reports that Amupitan’s latest assurance comes amid persistent allegations and questions over his neutrality since his appointment as INEC chairman in October 2025.

The controversy intensified in April 2026 following the circulation of screenshots of social media posts allegedly linked to an X account bearing his name and photograph.

One of the posts, which reportedly contained the expression “Victory is sure” in response to a political message associated with the All Progressives Congress (APC), was interpreted by critics as an indication of partisan sympathy.

Other posts attributed to the account also generated controversy, including comments relating to allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria.

The allegations triggered demands by opposition politicians and civil society groups for Amupitan to resign or be removed from office, with critics questioning whether he could preside impartially over the 2027 elections.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) caucus in the House of Representatives, in particular, called for his removal and prosecution, alleging that the social media activity raised serious questions about his impartiality.

The lawmakers also accused INEC, under his leadership, of taking decisions that aggravated the leadership crisis within the ADC and threatened the party’s ability to participate in the forthcoming elections.

However, INEC denied that the chairman owned or operated the controversial X account, describing the allegations as false.

The commission said a forensic examination had identified the account as an impersonation and maintained that there was no verified forensic evidence linking Amupitan to the posts.

The chairman has also maintained that he has no personal social media account.

Beyond the social media controversy, concerns about his neutrality were raised during his appointment in October 2025, after President Bola Tinubu nominated him to succeed former INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

Although the President described Amupitan as an apolitical person with an impeccable record of service, sections of the opposition and civil society questioned the appointment, citing concerns about the independence of the electoral commission and the need to sustain public confidence in the electoral process.

Amupitan, who denied having participated in the legal team that represented Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election petitions, has repeatedly pledged to remain impartial.

He had also given a similar assurance in August 2026 at the signing of the first National Peace Accord for the 2027 general elections, declaring that INEC had no interest in determining who won or lost the polls.

Meanwhile, Foh said the ECOWAS pre-election fact-finding mission was part of the regional organisation’s established efforts to assess electoral preparedness in member states approaching general elections.

He explained that the delegation, which included the Head of ECOWAS Electoral Assistance Division, Serigne Mamadou Ka, was engaging relevant electoral stakeholders to assess their preparedness and identify areas where the regional body could provide support.

Foh said the mission was being conducted in line with Article 31 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and Article 53 of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework.

The engagement provided an opportunity for INEC to brief the regional delegation on its preparations, electoral technology, voter registration and security arrangements ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.