The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash O. Amupitan, has announced that the commission will release a fresh timetable for the 2027 general elections following the signing of the new Electoral Act 2026 into law.
Amupitan made this known during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and at the swearing-in ceremony of Dr. Chukwu Chukwu-Emeka Joseph as the REC for Abia State.
Earlier, INEC had fixed February 20, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, while governorship and State House of Assembly elections were scheduled for March 6, 2027. However, those dates were set under the old Electoral Act.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently signed the amended Electoral Act 2026 into law, which introduced new provisions that affect the election timetable. Because of this development, INEC says it must now adjust its plans to comply fully with the new legal framework.
One of the key changes in the amended law requires INEC to publish a notice of election at least 300 days before the date fixed for any election across the states and the Federal Capital Territory. Amupitan explained that although the commission had issued a notice on February 13, 2026, that notice was based on the previous law. A revised timetable will therefore be released to align with the new Act.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission is preparing to begin a nationwide voters’ revalidation exercise. The aim is to further clean up and update the national voter register before the 2027 polls. He said the plan was thoroughly discussed at the commission’s retreat in Lagos earlier this year.
He added that the second phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), which began on January 5, 2026, remains ongoing and will close on April 17, 2026. The full CVR cycle is expected to end by August 30, 2026.
Reflecting on recent electoral activities, Amupitan described the Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory and bye-elections in parts of Kano and Rivers states as largely peaceful and successfully conducted. However, he acknowledged that there were operational challenges, including late arrival of officials and delayed opening of some polling units. He said such lapses are unacceptable and would be investigated, with sanctions applied where necessary.
He also pointed to incidents at some collation centres and stressed the need for stronger collaboration with security agencies to prevent disruptions in future elections.
On election results management, Amupitan noted that the collation stage remains the most vulnerable part of the electoral process. To strengthen transparency, INEC has enhanced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
Under the improved procedure, presiding officers must upload images of completed result sheets (Form EC8A) to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and input party scores directly into the BVAS device. The system now automatically checks that total votes do not exceed the number of accredited voters and ensures that figures are mathematically accurate. Any case of over-voting is flagged and cannot be processed.
According to him, the upgraded system was tested during the recent FCT and state constituency elections, with most results successfully uploaded to IReV and confirmed to be accurate.
