The Independent National Electoral Commission will conduct a nationwide mock accreditation exercise in November 2026 to assess the readiness of its voting technology ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said the exercise would provide an opportunity to examine the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and identify technical or operational weaknesses that need to be addressed before the elections.
Amupitan disclosed this in Abuja on Friday during separate meetings with the Chargé d’Affaires of the Canadian High Commission, David Sproule, and the Country Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Moritz Sprenker.
He said the commission would use the lessons from the recent Osun State governorship election to improve its preparations for the 2027 polls. According to him, the Osun election demonstrated the effectiveness of the commission’s technological systems, particularly the BVAS and electronic transmission of results.
The commission recorded accreditation and voting in 3,556 of the 3,763 polling units in Osun by 8:30am, representing 94.5 per cent of the polling units. Amupitan attributed the performance to effective deployment of BVAS, smooth transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing portal and the prompt response of electoral officials to emerging challenges.
He said INEC would build on the experience as it works to strengthen electoral technology and improve the credibility of the 2027 election process.
Amupitan also raised the issue of voter revalidation, noting that some voters, particularly elderly citizens who registered many years ago, would require their records to be validated. However, he said the exercise could not be carried out before the 2027 elections because of the limited time available.
The INEC chairman further disclosed that the commission had established an Artificial Intelligence Unit to support areas such as data management, voter registration and results transmission, while ensuring the technology is not abused.
He said preparations for the 2027 elections were already progressing, with presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, followed by governorship and State House of Assembly elections on February 6, 2027. Public campaigns for the elections began on August 19, 2026.
The Canadian delegation expressed its willingness to continue supporting INEC, including through election observation and initiatives aimed at improving participation by women and other groups.
Amupitan said collaboration with international partners remained important to strengthening Nigeria’s electoral system and ensuring that the 2027 elections meet democratic standards.
