INEC suspends staff’s annual leave over 2027 poll

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has ordered its staff to suspend additional annual leave as it ramps up preparations for the 2027 general elections. INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, made the directive during a meeting with staff members in the North-Central zone in Lokoja, Kogi State on Friday. The commission revealed the decision in a statement posted on its official X account.

Amupitan emphasized that the directive aimed to ensure personnel availability for the administrative and operational demands of the upcoming elections. He urged staff to maintain heightened administrative discipline, operational efficiency, and commitment. The chairman also warned against negligence, absenteeism, financial impropriety, and partisanship, urging Resident Electoral Commissioners and Administrative Secretaries to enforce attendance and accountability measures.

The reforms include a new salary structure, enhanced field allowances, increased funding for state offices, and additional operational vehicles. INEC has also bolstered its technological capacity, configuring 57,000 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices and auditing its electronic result management systems. The commission has completed nine out of 14 major milestones in its statutory timetable for the 2027 elections, with presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections on February 6.