The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), has raised concerns regarding preparations for the 2027 general election, revealing that the electoral umpire is still awaiting the full release of funds earmarked for technology and election operations.
​Speaking through his representative, National Commissioner Prof. Sanni Adam, on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, during the 13th Annual International Conference of the Association of Communication Scholars & Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) in Abuja, Prof. Amupitan outlined critical operational and technological bottlenecks confronting the commission ahead of the next national polls.
Despite proposing an extensive budget to cover election operations, operational logistics, and the procurement of new voter accreditation devices to replace lost or damaged units from the previous cycle, INEC confirmed that capital disbursements remain incomplete.
​”Full release of these funds is still being awaited, yet preparations continue,” Prof. Amupitan stated. He added that the commission’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) team has already initiated direct engagements with device manufacturers to avoid procurement delays, proceeding with preparatory frameworks alongside budget finalization.
Addressing lingering public skepticism following technical glitches during the 2023 general election, Prof. Amupitan announced that INEC will not simply redeploy old infrastructure.
Instead, the commission is initiating a comprehensive audit of its electoral technology, focusing on system redundancy, penetration testing, and disaster recovery planning.
​To stress-test its infrastructure under real-world conditions, INEC is planning a nationwide mock presidential election ahead of 2027 to evaluate voter accreditation, results transmission, and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
Beyond operational funding, the INEC chief warned that the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven disinformation poses an existential threat to the credibility of the 2027 polls.
The highlighted vulnerabilities include Generative Deepfakes; Synthetic audio, manipulated videos, and fabricated images capable of misleading voters before official verification can occur.
Also highlighted the polarising political messaging targeted at narrow voter segments based on demographic and online behavioral data.
​Prof. Amupitan stressed that electoral technology and public communication must now be managed as an integrated discipline, confirming that INEC will establish an “always-on” digital monitoring and rapid-response architecture to counter viral falsehoods within the same news cycle.
