Amupitan Holds First Quarterly Meeting with Media, Urges Accurate Reporting, Calls for Public Trust
Oru Leonard
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, has held his first quarterly consultative meeting with media executives, outlining key electoral activities ahead of the 2027 General Election and reaffirming INEC’s commitment to credible polls.
The meeting took place on Wednesday, 4 February 2026, at the INEC Conference Room in Abuja.
Amupitan recalled the successful conduct of the Anambra State off-cycle governorship election on 8 November 2025, held barely 15 days after he assumed office. He said the election, which featured candidates from 16 political parties and over 2.8 million registered voters, was widely acknowledged as credible, inclusive and transparent.
He praised the media for accurate reporting that boosted public confidence in the electoral process.
The INEC Chairman announced that preparations were ongoing for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections scheduled for Saturday, 21 February 2026.
According to him, 1,680,315 registered voters will vote across 2,822 polling units in the six Area Councils. He disclosed that non-sensitive materials had been delivered, electoral officers trained, BVAS devices configured, and sensitive materials would arrive a day before the election.
He disclosed that a mock accreditation exercise will be conducted on 7 February 2026 in 289 selected polling units.
Amupitan confirmed that INEC will also conduct bye-elections on the same day in Ahoada East II and Khana II State Constituencies of Rivers State, as well as Kano Municipal and Ungogo constituencies of Kano State, following the resignation and death of serving lawmakers.
On Ekiti, Osun Governorship Timelines
He confirmed that the Ekiti State governorship election will take place on 20 June 2026, while Osun State will go to the polls on 8 August 2026, in line with provisions of the Electoral Act.
On the 2027 General Election, the INEC Chairman revealed that the Commission has finalised the timetable and schedule of activities, while urging the National Assembly to fast-track amendments to the Electoral Act.
Amupitan announced plans for a nationwide voter revalidation exercise ahead of the 2027 elections to clean up the national voters’ register.
He cited challenges such as duplicate registrations, deceased voters and non-citizens, warning that double registration is illegal and will lead to removal from the register and disqualification from voting.
Over 2.7 Million Registered in CVR
The INEC Chairman said 2,782,587 eligible voters were registered during the first phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, with the second phase running until 17 April 2026.
Amupitan disclosed that INEC received 171 applications from associations seeking registration as political parties, noting that only those that met constitutional and legal requirements would be approved.
He urged the media to intensify public sensitisation on PVC collection in the FCT, which ends on 10 February 2026, and to help combat hate speech, vote buying and election-related violence.
“Elections are no longer contested only at polling units but also in the information space,” Amupitan said, calling on journalists to rely on INEC’s official channels and resist misinformation and disinformation.
He reaffirmed INEC’s openness to sustained engagement with the media as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 General Elections.
