Reloaded News Desk
Nigeria’s National Register of Voters has risen to more than 103 million as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) enters the final 100-day countdown to the 2027 General Election.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Tuesday at the Commission’s World Press Conference and National Stakeholders’ Meeting held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.
The meeting brought together political party representatives, security agencies, members of the diplomatic corps, development partners, civil society organisations, election observers, traditional and religious leaders, youth groups and media representatives.
Amupitan said the latest voter register followed the completion of the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which produced 10,772,421 new registrations, subject to the completed biometric verification and cleaning process.
According to the Commission, the first phase recorded 2,611,266 registrations, the second 4,121,835 and the third 3,867,997.
INEC said the preliminary display of the register for claims and objections will take place nationwide from October 9 to 15, 2026.
PVC Collection Begins October 9
The Commission also announced that nationwide collection of newly produced Permanent Voter Cards will begin on Friday, October 9.
INEC said the first phase of PVCs has already been processed and distributed to Local Government Area collection centres.
The Commission has also introduced printable PVC technology, which it says is designed to reduce delays and help prevent eligible voters from being disenfranchised, particularly where cards are lost or stolen.
57,000 New BVAS Acquired
A major component of INEC’s preparation is the expansion and upgrading of its electoral technology.
Amupitan disclosed that the Commission had acquired 57,000 additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, with production and delivery already underway.
The existing BVAS infrastructure is also undergoing software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration.
INEC said the measures are intended to improve accreditation reliability and reduce opportunities for manual manipulation.
The Commission is also deploying an enhanced electronic EC8A system designed to digitise and cryptographically authenticate polling-unit results before their upload to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV.
INEC Establishes AI Division
In another significant development, INEC has established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its Information and Communications Technology Department.
Amupitan said AI-assisted tools are being integrated into the Commission’s results verification and cybersecurity systems to detect anomalies and protect electoral databases and public-facing platforms.
The Commission said the deployment will operate under a governance framework with mandatory human oversight.
INEC is also concerned about the potential impact of deepfakes, manipulated audio-visual materials, coordinated disinformation and premature declarations of unofficial election results.
The Commission warned that such activities could create confusion, suppress voter participation and undermine confidence in genuine election results.
Election Preparations Move Into Execution
Amupitan said INEC had completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities contained in its timetable for the 2027 elections.
He described the Commission’s preparations as having moved into what he called the “amber zone”, reflecting the narrowing window before the polls.
The Commission said it has moved beyond planning and tendering into active contract execution, production, delivery and construction.
Non-sensitive electoral materials have already begun moving to some states, while contracts covering new BVAS devices, ballot boxes, voting cubicles and operational vehicles are being implemented.
INEC also said construction and renovation work is progressing at some facilities, including dedicated BVAS storage facilities and Local Government Area offices.
Candidate Nominations and Court Cases
The Commission provided an update on candidate nominations for the 2027 elections.
INEC said 18 of the 22 registered political parties submitted 36 presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
For the National Assembly elections, 21 political parties sponsored 1,313 Senate candidates and 3,547 House of Representatives candidates.
For governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, 21 parties nominated 936 governorship and deputy governorship candidates and 9,692 State Assembly candidates.
The Commission said it received 112 formal complaints from aspirants, candidates and political parties over the nomination process and resolved all except matters pending before the courts.
Amupitan also disclosed that INEC had received the certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, delivered on September 24, 2026, and was reviewing its implications.
29 Constituencies Restored or Created
INEC said court judgments had led to the restoration of 27 previously suppressed state constituencies between June and August 2026 across Benue, Delta, Jigawa and Kogi states.
The Commission also created two new state constituencies in Delta State; Warri South West II and Warri North II.
Political party primaries and candidate nominations for the affected constituencies have been completed.
Campaign Finance Under Monitoring
The Commission also disclosed plans to intensify monitoring of campaign expenditure ahead of the election.
Amupitan said INEC was collaborating with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to monitor suspicious and illegal campaign financing.
The Commission said the mechanism would track campaign spending while surveillance around polling units would also be strengthened.
INEC also reiterated its warning that electoral offences would attract arrest and prosecution.
Security and Staff Preparation
Beyond technology and logistics, the Commission said it was strengthening election security and operational readiness.
Nationwide readiness assessments are being conducted across the six geopolitical zones, covering INEC offices, storage facilities, security protocols and logistics networks.
The Commission said physical readiness audits and staff engagements had already been completed in the South-West and North-West zones.
It also plans structured training for election personnel, including Supervisory Presiding Officers, Presiding Officers, Assistant Presiding Officers, Collation Officers and Returning Officers.
100 Days to Decide
With the countdown now at 100 days, INEC says the 2027 election preparations have moved decisively from planning into execution.
The Commission’s challenge in the coming weeks will be to translate its procurement, technology, voter-registration, logistics and security plans into effective operations across Nigeria’s vast electoral landscape.
For voters, the immediate milestones are clear: the display of the register begins October 9, PVC collection begins the same day, and the Commission is intensifying preparations for the January 2027 polls.
The 2027 General Election will therefore enter its most operationally sensitive phase as INEC attempts to combine a voter register exceeding 103 million with upgraded technology, new logistics infrastructure and strengthened safeguards against electoral malpractice and information disorder.
NEWS THAT INFORMS, MEDIA THAT TRANSFORMS
I’m interested