The House of Representatives has directed its Committee on Electoral Matters to invite the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to explain the commission’s preparedness for the 2027 general elections, with lawmakers seeking assurances on logistics, technology, personnel training, security and funding.
The move comes amid growing calls from civil society organisations (CSOs), political stakeholders and electoral experts for INEC to demonstrate its readiness through transparent and verifiable evidence, as concerns over the credibility of the electoral process persist following the shortcomings of the 2023 general elections.
Separately, the appearance of suspected artificial intelligence (AI)-generated photographs and questionable entries in INEC’s preliminary voters’ register has triggered public outrage, prompting the commission to launch an investigation and promise to correct verified irregularities before certifying the final register.
The House’s decision followed a debate on a motion jointly sponsored yesterday by the Minority Whip, Mansur Manu Soro, and Abdussamad Dasuki, seeking an assessment of INEC’s capacity to conduct credible, transparent and acceptable elections.
The lawmakers said preparations for the 2027 polls must cover voter registration and education, logistics, technology, personnel training, security coordination and funding.
Leading the debate, Soro stressed that INEC’s readiness in these areas would play a major role in determining the credibility of the elections. The lawmakers also cited lessons from the recent Ekiti State governorship election, particularly in logistics management, technology deployment, stakeholder engagement, security and voter participation.
The motion sparked debate over whether the INEC chairman should address the entire House during plenary or appear before the Committee on Electoral Matters.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu opposed an appearance before the full chamber, arguing that the committee could conduct the necessary oversight. He acknowledged the importance of legislative scrutiny but said INEC had already addressed some concerns during a recent public presentation by its chairman.
Kalu added that the commission had not raised concerns about logistics, had commenced recruitment on time and had not expressed reservations about deploying technology.
He consequently proposed an amendment directing the committee to invite the INEC chairman to answer questions on the commission’s preparations.
Supporting the amendment, Dasuki said the sponsors wanted INEC to explain how it planned to conduct elections amid the country’s security challenges.
He warned that insecurity could prevent some communities and polling units from participating in the 2027 elections.
“On this floor, Mr Speaker, we have had unprecedented 255 security-related motions that are captured here, and we believe there are a lot of constituencies, a lot of polling units that will not be able to participate in the election,” Dasuki said.
He said the lawmakers wanted the commission to outline measures to address these risks and ensure an inclusive electoral process.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, who presided over the session, urged members to allow the committee to provide the appropriate platform for questioning the INEC chairman. He directed the committee to publicise the meeting date so interested lawmakers could attend, raise concerns and obtain answers from the commission.
Tajudeen cautioned against treating the number of security-related motions before the current Assembly as conclusive evidence that insecurity had worsened, arguing that the figures could also reflect lawmakers’ increased responsiveness to security concerns.
“We are all in agreement that the INEC Chairman should be invited by the committee to answer questions from the members,” the Speaker ruled.
The House subsequently referred the motion to the Committee on Electoral Matters for further legislative action.
Suspected AI photos trigger public outcry, INEC probes lapses
THE legislative intervention coincides with mounting public concern over suspected AI-generated photographs and questionable records in INEC’s preliminary voters’ register, particularly following the circulation of screenshots purportedly showing irregularities in parts of Edo State.
In response, the commission said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the photographs, including possible technical or procedural lapses, and would take appropriate action based on verified findings.
The Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, explained that the register published on the commission’s website on October 26 was the same preliminary register physically displayed at Registration Areas nationwide from October 9 to 15 during the Display, Claims and Objections exercise.
According to him, questionable registration records had been identified and flagged during the physical display for further examination, while the commission had commenced the process of reviewing them and taking corrective action in line with established procedures.
He said the online publication represented the original preliminary register and did not reflect all ongoing data-cleanup activities.
INEC maintained that the preliminary register was not the final certified version, stressing that the display exercise was designed to allow citizens to scrutinise voter records, identify inaccuracies and irregularities, and seek corrections before certification.
“The Commission is also examining the circumstances surrounding the suspicious photographs, including possible technical or procedural lapses, and will take appropriate action based on verified findings,” Haruna said.
The Commission thanked citizens and stakeholders who raised concerns, describing public scrutiny as an important part of efforts to improve the accuracy and integrity of the register.
It assured Nigerians that verification, adjudication, and data-cleanup processes would be completed before the final Register of Voters is certified on December 15, 2026.
The controversy gained traction after screenshots circulated on social media purportedly showing questionable photographs attached to voter records in Ward 11, Etsako West Local Government Area, and Udomi in Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo State.
CSOs demand proof of preparedness, cite 2023 failures
AS the voters’ register controversy fuels wider concerns about electoral credibility, CSOs have called on INEC to demonstrate its readiness through transparent, verifiable evidence rather than assurances alone.
ActionAid Nigeria, Centre LSD, Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, MOTION and partner organisations made the demand during a press briefing yesterday in Abuja.
The organisations said the shortcomings recorded during the 2023 general elections, including late arrival of materials, Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) malfunctions and controversy over results transmission, remained fresh in the public’s memory.
The Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu, who read the joint statement, said credible elections were built long before election day through timely distribution of materials, impartial recruitment and practical training of personnel, reliable technology, clear results-management procedures and effective security arrangements.
He said weaknesses in any of these areas could disrupt voting, undermine public confidence and create opportunities for manipulation.
Mamedu acknowledged that INEC had announced measures to improve logistics, procure additional BVAS devices, secure election materials and recruit personnel, but stressed that such announcements did not establish operational readiness.
“The question is whether these plans will translate into timely, transparent, inclusive and credible elections in every part of Nigeria, from riverine communities of the Niger Delta to banditry-affected areas of the North West and difficult terrains of the North East,” he said.
The organisations expressed concern about the delivery of ballot papers, result sheets, BVAS devices and voters’ registers to the correct polling units in sufficient quantities and on time, given poor roads, insecurity, flooding and difficult terrain.
They said the critical question was whether materials would reach their designated polling units before 7:00 a.m. on election day, rather than whether they had been procured and stored in Abuja.
They identified the risks of late delivery of sensitive materials, inadequate vehicles, poor coordination among state, local government and ward centres, incomplete inventories and insufficient contingency arrangements for breakdowns.
The groups therefore urged INEC to publish a comprehensive logistics plan detailing distribution timeline, deadlines for each stage, arrangements for difficult areas and mechanisms for correcting shortages before voting begins.
On personnel, ActionAid Nigeria said its request for access to independently monitor and publicly report on the ongoing recruitment of ad hoc election staff remained unanswered.
The organisation also raised concerns over the security of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members deployed to remote and volatile areas, alongside allegations that NYSC lists could be infiltrated at state level and that politicians had supplied NYSC uniforms to people posing as corps members.
The groups urged INEC to reject recruitment recommendations from governors, legislators and political parties, insisting that political neutrality should be a fundamental qualification for election duty.
To ensure transparency, they demanded a state-by-state dashboard showing applications, screening and certification for the five categories of personnel advertised on the INECPRES portal, whose recruitment window runs until November 18, 2026.
They also called for the NYSC Director-General to certify personnel lists biometrically and for INEC to publish staff training-completion rates, supported by evidence of practical simulations rather than classroom photographs alone.
The organisations further demanded a reserve pool of at least 20 per cent additional staff, estimated at 280,000 personnel, to replace absentees, alongside the publication of welfare arrangements, including daily allowances, insurance and security escorts for corps members deployed to difficult areas.
“Readiness is demonstrated, not declared. We demand: Show us the plan. Show us the progress. Show us the evidence. Our votes must not be lost to preventable logistical failures,” the groups said.
Separately, Adopt-a-Goal for Development Initiative urged INEC to deliver credible and transparent elections, warning that manipulation, violence and declining public confidence could undermine Nigeria’s democracy.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Kunle Afolabi, to mark the fourth anniversary of the death of democracy advocate Ariyo Dare Atoye, the organisation said the 2027 elections should translate years of advocacy for electoral reforms into tangible results.
Atoye died on October 27, 2022, after devoting much of his public life to electoral reforms, democratic accountability and citizens’ participation.
he group said the most fitting tribute to him would be an electoral system Nigerians could trust.
“The greatest monument Nigeria can build in his honour is not made of concrete or marble. It is an electoral system Nigerians can trust,” it said.
It urged INEC to safeguard the voters’ register, ensure transparent deployment of electoral technology, strengthen the transmission and collation of results, train electoral personnel and resolve operational and technological challenges before election day.
The organisation also called on political parties, candidates and their supporters to reject violence, intimidation and vote-buying.
“No political ambition is worth the blood of a Nigerian,” it said.
MBF, Afenifere, CHRICED, others task INEC on voters’ register, demand urgent review
STAKEHOLDERS have called for accountability over suspected irregularities in the preliminary voters’ register, demanding an independent investigation involving Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts and the prosecution of anyone found culpable to restore public confidence in the electoral process.
The National Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Achike Chude, said an apology from the Independent National Electoral Commission would not be enough to restore confidence, insisting that the commission must thoroughly investigate the controversy and prosecute those responsible.
Chude said INEC must explain how the questionable images and entries found their way into the displayed register, the number of affected records, those responsible for their inclusion and whether any of the disputed material had been uploaded to its official website.
He warned against dismissing the incident as a minor technical error, given the importance of the voters’ register in determining eligibility to vote and safeguarding electoral credibility.
“Who are the people who started it? Whoever is found culpable should face the law. It is not just about the people who uploaded the images. These things do not happen on their own. Who gave the instruction for the generation of these AI images?” he asked.
The NUJ scribe said an investigation should establish the chain of responsibility, including whether the irregularities resulted from individual actions, failures in verification procedures or decisions by officials responsible for deploying and supervising the technology.
He cautioned against excessive reliance on artificial intelligence (AI), stressing that the technology was not infallible and could not absolve public officials of responsibility for decisions taken with its assistance.
“AI makes mistakes. We cannot put all our eggs in the basket of an application or a platform. The human element must remain very much involved,” he said.
Chude called for safeguards, including adequate verification, clear lines of responsibility and transparency in the use of technological systems, particularly where errors could affect citizens’ rights or undermine confidence in public institutions.
Also, the Executive Director of the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), Zikirullahi Ibrahim, accused INEC of a lack of transparency in its handling of the voters’ register and alleged a covert attempt to compromise it.
Ibrahim questioned the timing of the register’s release for public scrutiny, arguing that delays could leave Nigerians with insufficient time to identify and challenge questionable entries before the final register was certified.
He said the controversy raised questions about accountability in the management of the electoral process, particularly given the public funds allocated to INEC and the importance of maintaining an accurate register.
The CHRICED director noted that voter registration had long been part of Nigeria’s electoral process, dating back to the 1998 exercise under the military administration of General Abdulsalami Abubakar. He said successive electoral reforms had introduced technology to improve the process.
Ibrahim faulted INEC for failing to provide what he considered sufficient details about the suspected AI-generated photographs, arguing that its initial response did not adequately address the specific concerns raised by Nigerians.
Meanwhile, a former INEC commissioner, Prof Lai Olurode, urged the commission to combine technology with human verification to clean up the voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Olurode, a retired professor of sociology, said the electoral process should not be entirely technology-driven, stressing that public scrutiny and human intervention remained necessary to identify irregularities that automated systems might fail to detect.
He said such concerns were not entirely unexpected, noting that although technology had helped address longstanding problems in electoral administration, it could not eliminate every irregularity.
“We have taken a fast walk away from strange names appearing on the register. I think it is good that this is coming up and it should be expected,” he said.
Olurode described the public display of the register as an important opportunity for citizens to identify questionable entries and alert INEC to them. He urged Nigerians to scrutinise the names and photographs, reporting suspected cases of deceased persons remaining on the register and entries bearing unfamiliar names or questionable images.
“If they say people are dead there, they shouldn’t hesitate to point it out that this register is not clean. But without a clean register, you cannot do a flawless election,” he said.
The former commissioner acknowledged that achieving a completely error-free register might be difficult, but argued that INEC could improve its accuracy by making public inspection effective and addressing identified irregularities promptly.
The National President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Bitrus Pogu, also urged INEC to review the register urgently and correct all identified irregularities before the 2027 elections.
Pogu said an accurate register should be made available for public verification, warning that doubts about voters’ records could weaken confidence in the electoral process even before voting began.
He urged the commission to ensure that the register used at polling units was reliable, adding that its responsibility extended beyond compiling voters’ records to guaranteeing transparency at every stage of the election.
Pogu also called for adequate election materials at polling units, warning that logistical shortcomings should not be allowed to undermine the exercise.
On electronic transmission of results, he said the process must be transparent and efficient to minimise doubts about election outcomes.
“Voter verification, accreditation, the availability of election materials and the transmission of results must all be handled in a manner that allows citizens to trust the process, irrespective of the candidates or political parties involved,” he said.
Pogu said credible elections depended not only on an accurate register but also on INEC’s ability to prevent avoidable technical and logistical failures on election day. He urged the commission to ensure that problems identified during the register review did not recur, stressing that confidence in electoral procedures was essential to public acceptance of results.
In a related development, Afenifere spokesman Justice Faloye warned that undermining the credibility of the 2027 elections could frustrate peaceful political change and create conditions for more dangerous alternatives.
Faloye said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political actors had a responsibility to ensure that citizens could freely express their choices through the ballot box.
He argued that fundamental changes to existing electoral arrangements might be difficult to achieve before the elections without a possible postponement, but insisted that political leaders must be warned about the consequences of undermining the process.
The Afenifere spokesman cautioned that obstructing peaceful avenues for political change could drive some citizens towards violent alternatives. He said credible elections offered a peaceful means of resolving political competition and ensuring that changes in government reflected voters’ choices.
With the 2027 general elections approaching, INEC’s handling of the controversy over the preliminary voters’ register is likely to shape public perceptions of its preparedness and commitment to credible elections.