The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dominated out any change to the timetable for the 2027 normal elections, insisting that the polls will maintain as scheduled.
The Commission additionally fastened December 15, 2026, for the certification and publication of the ultimate register of voters forward of the elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Saturday throughout an interactive assembly with fee officers and Resident Electoral Commissioners from the six South-South states in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Amupitan mentioned the Commission’s statutory timeline for conducting the elections was fastened and wouldn’t be altered with out lawful justification.
“Our statutory timeline is fixed. We will not change anything. The election must be held as scheduled,” he mentioned.
His place comes amid claims by some political events that the 2027 normal elections may very well be postponed.
The INEC chairman reaffirmed the Commission’s dedication to conducting peaceable, clear and credible elections in accordance with the regulation.
On the voters’ register, Amupitan disclosed that the Commission had acquired greater than 5,000 requests for corrections, together with modifications to names and dates of delivery, in addition to over 600 objections through the public show of the preliminary register.
He mentioned INEC was processing the submissions to deal with discrepancies earlier than certifying and publishing the ultimate register on December 15.
The Commission had made the preliminary voters’ register accessible on-line and at designated places to allow registered voters to confirm their particulars and lift objections the place needed.
Amupitan additionally revealed that INEC had initially thought of conducting a contemporary revalidation train for the voters’ register after he assumed workplace however deserted the proposal due to issues that it might be too near the overall elections.
He expressed confidence within the Commission’s preparedness, citing classes from latest off-cycle governorship elections, significantly the Osun State governorship ballot.
The chairman mentioned the expertise gained from these elections would assist INEC enhance its preparations for the 2027 normal elections.
He additionally recognized Rivers State as a precedence space within the South-South area due to its giant voting inhabitants.
According to figures introduced by the fee, Rivers has 3,736,434 registered voters, adopted by Delta with 3,525,988; Edo with 2,865,263; Akwa Ibom with 2,566,198; Cross River with 1,928,978; and Bayelsa with 1,200,691.
The six states have a mixed 15,823,550 registered voters.
Amupitan urged electoral officers to make sure that no eligible voter was disenfranchised due to operational failures.
He additionally mentioned INEC was working with safety companies, together with the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services, to guard voters, electoral personnel and election supplies through the polls.
The chairman warned that electoral officers and advert hoc employees, together with members of the National Youth Service Corps, who tried to compromise the electoral course of would face the implications of the regulation.
The 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, whereas governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are slated for February 6, 2027.
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