House Gives INEC Chairman Seven Legislative Days to Explain Readiness for 2027 Elections

The House of Representatives has given Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, seven legislative days to explain his commission's readiness for the 2027 general elections. During this briefing, lawmakers will scrutinize various aspects, including Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), Permanent Voter Card (PVC) handling, election logistics, deployment of technologies like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), personnel training, election security, risk assessments, budget implementation, and lessons from the recent Ekiti State governorship election.

The House has also demanded a comprehensive report on INEC's preparedness, covering areas such as registration progress, PVC distribution, electoral technology readiness, logistical arrangements, identification and mapping of challenging locations, personnel recruitment and training, budget allocation, released funds, outstanding payments, and potential impacts of funding shortfalls.

These resolutions came after the Minority Whip, Hon. Mansur Manu Soro (APM, Bauchi), and the Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki (ADC, Sokoto), proposed an amendment during plenary. Soro emphasized the importance of INEC's preparedness for voter registration, education, logistics, technology deployment, personnel training, security coordination, funding, and the timely execution of the electoral timetable.

He highlighted the need for early preparation for procurement, technology deployment, personnel recruitment and training, voter education, security planning, risk assessment, and efficient logistics. He also warned that failing to address issues in voter registration, logistics, technology deployment, and funding could undermine public trust in the electoral process and jeopardize the peaceful conduct of the 2027 general elections.