2027: INEC Speaks On Preferred Candidate, Party

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, on Tuesday, distanced the electoral body from the notion, that it would favour a political party or politician.

Amupitan, who spoke while signing the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns organised by the National Peace Committee in collaboration with The Kukah Centre, promised Nigerians that INEC would conduct a transparent and credible election.

Naija News reports that the event was held a day before the commencement of campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections.

Amupitan said, “Let me state unequivocally that INEC has no interest in who wins or loses any election. The Commission does not have a candidate, nor does it favour any political platform. Our only interest is a lawful, transparent, credible, and inclusive process.”

The Chairman of the electoral body further stated that the commission would not be compromised throughout the electoral process.

The INEC boss urged political parties and their candidates to make the 2027 campaigns issue-driven, rather than resorting to personal attacks, character assassination and inflammatory statements.

He listed economic development, national security, infrastructure, healthcare, education and social inclusion among areas that should form the centre of campaign discussions.

Amupitan said the Peace Accord had come at an important time as it would help establish acceptable standards for political campaigns before the official commencement on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

On the commission’s preparations for the 2027 elections, Amupitan said INEC was strengthening its logistics and operational capacity to deploy about 1.4 million ad hoc personnel to more than 176,000 polling units across the country.

He said the commission had spent the past eight months improving its technology, logistics and personnel training, while drawing lessons from recent elections conducted in Anambra State, the Federal Capital Territory, Ekiti State and Osun State.

Amupitan stressed that the responsibility for credible elections did not rest solely with INEC, noting that all stakeholders had important roles to play.

“As I have often said, INEC cannot deliver a perfect election alone. An election is a multi-stakeholder venture. We provide the pitch and the refereeing, but the quality of the game depends on the players,” he stated.

He called on political parties and candidates to accept the rules of the electoral contest and conduct their campaigns peacefully.

“Peace is not the absence of competition; it is the presence of rules and the willingness to abide by them. Let us compete vigorously, but let us compete decently. Let us remember that at the end of this exercise, there will be no winners if Nigeria is the loser,” Amupitan said.