The House of Representatives has summoned the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to appear before its Committee on Electoral Matters within seven legislative days over preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The lawmakers want the INEC chairman to brief the committee on voter registration, Permanent Voter Card distribution, election logistics, technology deployment, security and funding, amid concerns that insecurity could disenfranchise voters in some parts of the country.
The development comes as the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council alleged a plot to postpone the 16 January 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, accusing the Presidency of potentially using the Ebola outbreak as a justification.
INEC had fixed 16 January for the presidential and National Assembly elections, while the governorship and state House of Assembly elections are scheduled for 6 February 2027.
Reps demand INEC briefing
The House resolution followed a motion sponsored by the Minority Whip, Mansur Soro, and Deputy Minority Leader, Abdulsamad Dasuki, during Wednesday’s plenary.
The committee is expected to examine INEC’s readiness for continuous voter registration, PVC management, logistics, deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and INEC Result Viewing Portal, recruitment and training of electoral personnel, electoral security and funding.
Lawmakers also want the commission to provide details of budgetary appropriations, funds released and outstanding releases, as well as the implications of any funding gaps for the election timetable.
The lawmakers said INEC should also identify areas facing operational and security challenges and explain how the commission intends to ensure eligible voters in such areas are not disenfranchised.
Kalu, Abbas reject full House appearance
The sponsors had initially proposed that Amupitan appear before the entire House.
However, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu opposed the proposal, arguing that the Committee on Electoral Matters was constitutionally responsible for overseeing the commission.
Kalu said the committee should handle the engagement, particularly as the INEC chairman had recently briefed the public on the commission’s preparations and challenges.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas subsequently clarified that the House was not opposed to inviting Amupitan but that the engagement should take place at committee level.
He directed the committee to invite the INEC chairman and publicise the date so that interested lawmakers could attend and ask questions.
Lawmakers raise voter registration concerns
Presenting the motion, Soro cited relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2026, which confer responsibility for organising and supervising elections on INEC.
He said the credibility and acceptability of the 2027 elections would depend largely on the commission’s preparedness in voter registration, voter education, logistics, technology, personnel training, security coordination and funding.
Soro also raised concerns about reported difficulties at Continuous Voter Registration centres, including inadequate equipment, insufficient personnel, network problems and prolonged waiting times.
He warned that the challenges could particularly affect first-time voters, rural residents, persons with disabilities, students and workers seeking to register or update their voter information.
Dasuki said the concerns were heightened by the country’s security situation, noting that lawmakers had sponsored about 255 motions relating to insecurity.
He questioned whether residents of some constituencies and polling units would be able to access voting centres if insecurity persisted.
ADC alleges postponement plan
Meanwhile, the ADC Presidential Campaign Council alleged that there was a plan to postpone the 16 January presidential election.
In a statement by its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the council alleged that Amupitan could be summoned to the Presidential Villa and pressured to alter the election date.
The council, however, did not provide evidence to substantiate the allegation.
It urged the INEC chairman to reject any attempt to change the electoral timetable and warned against what it described as a possible use of the Ebola outbreak as a political justification.
“The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa,” the council said.
The ADC campaign council challenged President Bola Tinubu to seek another term through the ballot box, rather than allegedly seeking additional time in office through postponement.
It also argued that Nigerians should be allowed to assess the administration’s performance at the polls as scheduled.
ADC calls for health-based decision
The opposition campaign council acknowledged the seriousness of the Ebola outbreak but said public health measures should be handled by health professionals without being used as a political reason to delay the election.
It urged INEC to put measures in place to protect voters and election workers while maintaining the published timetable.
The council also called on domestic observers and international monitoring organisations to scrutinise any proposal to alter the election date, insisting that any such decision should be supported by publicly available health evidence.
The ADC said the Presidency should not use a health emergency to avoid an electoral contest.
However, there was no indication in the report that the Presidency or INEC had formally proposed postponing the election.
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