The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has stressed that elections cannot be considered credible if citizens feel unsafe to participate.
Amupitan spoke in Abuja at the first regular meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) for 2026, attended by heads and representatives of security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
He described 2026 as a busy electoral year, with Area Council elections, bye-elections and off-cycle governorship polls ahead of the 2027 general election, noting that these require heightened security planning, intelligence gathering and inter-agency coordination.
“As we approach the 2027 General Election, public interest and expectations continue to rise. Elections cannot be credible if citizens feel unsafe to participate,” he said.
The INEC chairman commended security agencies for their role in the peaceful conduct of the Anambra State off-cycle governorship election held on November 8, 2025, describing it as a benchmark for future polls.
On the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections scheduled for February 21, Amupitan said the exercise would involve over 1.6 million registered voters across 2,822 polling units, adding that INEC had completed delivery of non-sensitive materials and commenced training of ad-hoc staff.
He disclosed that a mock accreditation exercise using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would be conducted on February 7 in selected polling units.
Amupitan further revealed that bye-elections would hold on the same day in parts of Rivers and Kano states, while a nationwide voter revalidation exercise would soon begin ahead of 2027, requiring adequate security protection.
Speaking on behalf of the Office of the National Security Adviser, Hassan Abdullahi congratulated INEC and security agencies on recent electoral successes and assured continued collaboration.
The Nigeria Police Force, represented by Abayomi Shogunle, reaffirmed its commitment to massive deployment to secure elections nationwide.
By Friday Olokor
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