2027: INEC Suspends Staff Leave, Threatens Sanctions Over Negligence, Partisanship
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has directed its personnel to suspend further annual leave ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that negligence, absenteeism and political partisanship will attract disciplinary sanctions.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, announced the directive on Friday during a readiness assessment meeting with commission officials in Lokoja, Kogi State.
Amupitan warned that any staff member found engaging in political partisanship, negligence, financial impropriety or absenteeism would face decisive sanctions.
He charged electoral officials to demonstrate discipline, professionalism and commitment to their responsibilities.
The INEC chairman also directed Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and Administrative Secretaries to enforce strict attendance monitoring and accountability across the commission’s offices.
The directive comes as INEC intensifies preparations for the 2027 general elections, which will involve more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units nationwide.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Assembly elections will take place on February 6.
Beyond the disciplinary warning, Amupitan announced improvements in staff welfare, operational logistics and funding for the commission’s state offices.
He disclosed that the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure took effect on January 1, 2026, although arrangements for its full cash-backing were still ongoing.
According to him, salary, hazard and field allowances have also been enhanced to improve staff welfare and operational efficiency.
He further announced a 150 per cent increase in monthly overhead allocations to state offices, effective July 1, 2026.
On logistics, Amupitan said operational pickup vehicles had been distributed to INEC state and local government offices.
He added that the commission had procured 20 new Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for Resident Electoral Commissioners, while Administrative Secretaries were also expected to receive official vehicles.
Regarding election technology, the chairman disclosed that INEC was configuring 57,000 newly procured Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices.
The devices are expected to strengthen voter identification, verification and accreditation during the elections.
He also revealed that the commission was auditing its electronic result management systems, including the eEC8A verification platform.
The exercise is aimed at strengthening the transparent electronic transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
On voter registration, Amupitan announced that printable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and a digital PVC Location Portal had been activated.
He said the preliminary voters’ register had been made available for public scrutiny, while the certified final register would be published on December 15, 2026.
Addressing concerns over photographs appearing on the preliminary voters’ register, the INEC chairman explained that the information was still undergoing verification.
He assured that the verification process would be completed before the commission releases the final register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
