The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has disclosed that the North-East zone accounts for 13,965,475 registered voters, representing 13.51 per cent of Nigeria’s total registered voter population of more than 103 million, as the commission completes its data-cleaning exercise following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
Amupitan disclosed this while leading a readiness assessment visit to Gombe State as the commission intensified preparations for the 2027 general election.
The assessment brought together national commissioners, resident electoral commissioners from six North-East states and senior commission officials for an interactive session with field officers on their level of preparedness.
Speaking at the meeting, Amupitan said the visit was part of the commission’s deliberate strategy of engaging directly with electoral personnel across the country to assess operational readiness, identify gaps and strengthen preparations.
He noted that the nationwide assessment tour began in Lagos on September 7, 2026, covering the South-West, continued in Kaduna on September 28 for the North-West, and proceeded to Enugu on October 20 for the South-East before arriving in Gombe on October 26 for the North-East.
According to the INEC chairman, the exercise underscored the importance of direct engagement with officials responsible for implementing electoral plans at the grassroots.
“The true integrity of an election is not determined in the air-conditioned conference rooms of Abuja; it is forged in the field,” Amupitan said, stressing that electoral credibility depended on personnel preparedness, the functionality of operational facilities and effective coordination of election activities.
In his welcome address, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Gombe State, Mukhtar Gajiram Umar, outlined the state’s electoral structure and the commission’s ongoing preparations.
Umar said Gombe had three senatorial districts, six federal constituencies, 24 state constituencies, 114 registration areas and 2,988 polling units.
He put the state’s registered voter population at 1,768,566 following the recently concluded CVR exercise, ahead of the completion of the Automated Biometric Identification System process.
He disclosed that, with the activation of the INECPRES portal, recruitment of ad hoc election personnel had commenced, while training for different categories of election officials was also underway.
Umar further disclosed that the ICT and Voter Registration Department had commenced preliminary technical checks on equipment and infrastructure required for the 2027 elections.
The activities, he explained, were designed to identify technical challenges, assess the condition of election equipment and ensure the availability and functionality of the necessary information and communication technology infrastructure before election day.
Addressing the security situation in the North-East, the INEC chairman said the safety of voters, election personnel and observers remained fundamental to the credibility of the electoral process.
He emphasised that effective election planning must be supported by adequate security arrangements, noting that INEC would continue to work with relevant security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
Amupitan urged electoral officials to familiarise themselves with the Electoral Act 2026, the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2026, and relevant operational manuals.
He also charged staff to uphold neutrality and professionalism, resist political pressure, financial inducement, intimidation and ethnic bias, and ensure that all electoral activities were properly documented.
The Director of Planning and Monitoring, Helen Ajayi, said the zonal exercise was designed to determine the level of preparedness across states and identify operational challenges that could affect the successful conduct of the 2027 elections.
She explained that the engagement would also reinforce compliance with the commission’s Code of Conduct and ensure that personnel across the zone understood their responsibilities ahead of the polls.
During the session, directors and representatives of the Voter Education and Publicity, Voter Registry, ICT, Human Resources, and Election and Operations departments made presentations on their respective areas of responsibility.
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