INEC Chairman hails Osun poll as ‘gold standard’
by The Eagle Online · The Eagle OnlineThe Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), has described the Commission’s conduct of the Osun State governorship election as a “gold standard”.
Amupitan said it was a superlative benchmark in electoral administration as he disclosed that a nationwide mock accreditation exercise has been scheduled for November 2026 to test the Commission’s readiness ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The INEC Chairman spoke on Friday in Abuja while separately receiving the Chargé d’Affaires of the Canadian High Commission to Nigeria, David Sproule, and Country Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), Moritz Sprenker, who were both on courtesy visits to the Commission’s headquarters.
He said the Osun State election,held on August 15, 2026, demonstrated what he called the fruits of administrative foresight and technological reliability.
He said 3,556 of the 3,763 polling units in the state, representing 94.5 percent, opened for accreditation and voting by 8:30am.
He attributed the outcome to optimal field performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), seamless transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, and proactive crisis management by field officials.
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“We view the success in Osun not as a final destination, but as the gold standard that will guide our preparations for 2027,” the Chairman said.
Beyond the Osun State success, Amupitan said the Commission would in November 2026 conduct a mock accreditation exercise as part of preparations for the general election, describing it as a rigorous field test of the BVAS to fortify the sanctity of the ballot before the 2027 election.
He appreciated Canada’s continued partnership in ensuring the success of the exercise.
He also spoke on the need for a voter revalidation exercise, explaining that a significant number of voters, particularly the elderly who registered as far back as 2011, would need to have their records validated.
He said the exercise could not be conducted ahead of the 2027 General Election for want of time, but that it remained necessary to avoid delays in future electoral processes.
The INEC Chairman noted that both engagements came at a pivotal point in the Commission’s calendar, with the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and Governorship and House of Assembly elections slated for February 6, 2027.
He recalled that August 19, 2026 marked the official commencement of public campaigns and rallies for the 2027 General Election, and that the Commission had, days earlier, joined presidential candidates and party chairmen at the National Peace Committee’s signing of the first National Peace Accord on issue-based campaigning.
Receiving the Canadian delegation, the INEC Chairman said the visit reinforced the long-standing bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Canada, anchored on democratic values, the rule of law, and good governance.
He commended Canada’s sustained support for electoral governance, civic education, institutional strengthening, and gender inclusion in Nigeria.
He outlined five areas of shared strategic priority with the Canadian delegation: consolidating the technological gains recorded in Osun; deepening electoral inclusivity for persons with disabilities, women, youth, and underrepresented groups across the Commission’s 176,000 polling units; strengthening institutional capacity through technical assistance and training; countering election-related misinformation; and planned mock accreditation exercise.
The INEC Chairman informed the Commission’s guests that the Commission had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence (AI) Unit to strengthen data management, voter registration, and results transmission, while guarding against the misuse of such technologies.
Earlier, Sproule commended INEC’s commitment to a free and credible electoral process and reaffirmed Canada’s readiness to support the Commission in areas it deemed necessary, including election observation. He expressed particular interest in the active participation of women and other segments of society in the electoral process, and said Canada was confident in the Commission’s capacity to conduct credible elections.
In a related engagement, the INEC Chairman also received Sprenker, the newly appointed Country Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), congratulating him on his appointment.
He described KAS as a longstanding partner of the Commission and commended the Foundation’s contributions to constitutional democracy, the rule of law, and good governance globally.
Prof. Amupitan noted that INEC and KAS had collaborated on regulatory frameworks for political parties, including technical retreats held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and Lagos, which he said contributed to the Commission’s preparations for the Osun election.
He listed strategic priorities for continued collaboration with KAS to include civic education and democratic culture, electoral technology, institutional capacity building, countering misinformation, deepening inclusivity for persons with disabilities and marginalised groups, and interagency dialogue for peaceful electoral processes.
Responding, Sprenker said KAS is active in more than 100 countries, has worked in Nigeria for over 25 years across government, civil society, academia, and the media.
He recalled a capacity-building workshop on procurement held with INEC in Lagos in March 2026 and expressed KAS’s continued interest in strengthening its partnership with the Commission.
Prof. Amupitan used both engagements to reassure the international community of INEC’s independence, neutrality, and commitment to democratic integrity, as the Commission scales its logistical capacity to deploy approximately 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide for the 2027 General Election.
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