Politics
INEC Reveals Major Threats Facing 2027 Elections
stressing that credible polls are inseparable from national security.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has warned that Nigeria’s 2027 general elections face mounting risks, stressing that credible polls are inseparable from national security.
Speaking at the AANISS annual lecture, INEC chairman, Joash O. Amupitan, said elections and security must be treated as “two sides of the same coin of national stability.”
With the release of the 2027 timetable — presidential and national assembly elections on January 16 and governorship polls on February 6 — Amupitan said the country has entered a critical phase where political activity could heighten security vulnerabilities.
“We are entering a critical phase,” he said, describing the election cycle as “a security trigger.”
He identified a “sophisticated triad” of threats: social media disinformation, AI-driven manipulation, and foreign information interference, warning that they are “real, evolving, and capable of distorting the electoral environment.”
Amupitan also cited insurgency, communal conflicts, and logistical constraints as persistent risks, warning that insecurity could suppress voter participation.
“Without a secure environment, the sovereign will of the people is not just threatened; it is silenced,” he said.
He flagged declining turnout — from 53 percent in 2011 to 26 percent in 2023 — as a growing danger.
“When citizens disengage, it creates space for destabilising actors,” the electoral commission chief added.
The INEC chairman said the commission will continue deploying technology, including BVAS and IReV, while calling for stronger coordination among security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security.
Earlier, Mike Ejiofor said credible elections remain central to stability.
“When elections are credible, they confer legitimacy. When they are flawed, they breed discontent and insecurity,” Ejiofor asserted.
The lecture drew stakeholders across government and the security community, underscoring growing concern over the integrity of the 2027 polls.
