Amupitan: Under my leadership, INEC’s allegiance is to the Constitution, the law, Nigerian people

*KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE CHAIRMAN, INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC), PROF. JOASH AMUPITAN, SAN, AT THE 10TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE GUILD OF CORPORATE ONLINE PUBLISHERS (GOCOP) IN LAGOS ON THURSDAY, 8TH OCTOBER, 2026.

*THEME: 2027 ELECTIONS- TRUST, TRANSPARENCY AND SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES

PROTOCOLS

The Conference Chair, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association
President and Executive Council of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP)
President, Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE)
Distinguished Members of the Guild, Publishers, and Editors-in-Chief
CPS/Media Adviser to the INEC Chair Administrative Secretary, INEC in Lagos
Senior Officers of the Commission here present
Leaders of Civil Society Organisations, Academics, and Election Observer Groups
Gentlemen of the Press Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

1. INTRODUCTION: A DECADE OF DIGITAL STEWARDSHIP
It is a distinct privilege to deliver this Keynote Address at the 10th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) here in Lagos—the commercial heartbeat and vibrant media epic-enter of our nation. Ten years in the life of any

professional organisation is a formidable milestone of institutional resilience. In the rapidly shifting landscape of digital journalism, attaining a decade of self-regulation, ethical advocacy, and professional publisher leadership is an achievement worthy of national celebration.
On behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I congratulate the leadership and entire membership of GOCOP on this tin jubilee. Our gathering today takes place against a broader regional canvas where democratic institutions across West Africa are confronting profound structural, political, and socio-economic pressures. Questions surrounding the credibility of elections, public trust in governance, civic participation, political violence, pervasive disinformation, shrinking civic space, and the operational resilience of electoral management bodies remain central to the future of democratic stability across our sub-region.
As Africa’s largest democracy, Nigeria’s electoral trajectory sends an unmistakable signal across West Africa. Thus, our collective effort to build transparent, accountable, and resilient electoral processes is both a national obligation and a regional imperative. However, even as we gather to reflect on these weightier themes and celebrate GOCOP’s decade of digital stewardship, our hearts are heavy with the recent loss of a true pioneer of Nigerian digital journalism.
On behalf of the Commission, Management, and the entire electoral family, allow me to express our deepest condolences to the Guild, his family, and the media fraternity on the passing of your esteemed former President and Publisher of The Eagle Online, Mr. Dotun Oladipo. Mr. Oladipo was a patriot, a refined media executive, and a courageous champion of ethical online publishing. His pioneering leadership of GOCOP during its

formative years and his unwavering commitment to building a credible digital media architecture leave an indelible mark on Nigerian journalism. He was one of most reliable media partners helping to platform our stories without any hindrance. We pray that Almighty God grants his family and the Guild the fortitude to bear this immense loss, and may his soul rest in eternal peace. It is fitting that we congregate under a theme that directly honours the principles he lived by: “2027 Elections: Trust, Transparency and Shared Responsibilities.”
This conference convenes at a critical historical juncture. With the statutory schedule for the 2027 General Election cycle firmly set—beginning with the Presidential and National Assembly Elections on Saturday, 16th January 2027, followed by the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections on Saturday, 6th February 2027—our administrative machinery must align seamlessly with the public’s right to know, verify, and trust.
2. ELECTORAL TRUST IS EARNED THROUGH OPERATIONAL FIDELITY
Trust is neither an administrative inheritance nor a rhetorical concession; it is a currency earned through consistent, verifiable, and transparent execution. In election administration, trust is extraordinarily fragile. As the eminent American jurist, Justice Benjamin Cardozo, famously observed, “Justice is not to be taken by storm. She is to be wooed by slow advances.”
The exact same principle governs electoral integrity. Public confidence cannot be summoned on demand by executive pronouncements, nor can it be manufactured through polished Public Relations campaigns. It is constructed painstakingly—polling unit by polling unit, dataset by dataset, and process by process.

Under the statutory framework of the Electoral Act 2026, the central obligation of the Commission has moved beyond statutory design to strict administrative fidelity. A beautifully drafted law does not deliver a credible election on its own; nor does sophisticated technology guarantee integrity in a vacuum. The true test of trust lies in how faithfully administrative custodians execute the statutory provisions, deploy technology, enforce internal discipline, manage logistics, and communicate outcomes to the electorates.
INEC’s electoral preparedness must therefore be understood as extending far beyond the mechanical conduct of voting on Election Day. It encompasses our systemic capacity to build, sustain, and defend public confidence at every step of the electoral cycle.

3. COMPREHENSIVE ELECTORAL PREPAREDNESS FOR THE 2027 GENERAL ELECTION
To evaluate electoral readiness meaningfully, we must anchor our discussion on empirical facts, verifiable statistics, and concrete administrative benchmarks. Over the past 14 months, the Commission has undertaken multidimensional structural, technological, and logistical overhauls to build an unassailable foundation for 2027. This involves:
A. Statutory Milestones and Timetable
On 26th February 2026, the Commission formally issued the Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Elections, establishing 14 critical statutory activities to be implemented sequentially ahead of the polls. Standing precisely
98 days away from the 16th January 2027 Presidential and

National Assembly Elections, I am pleased to report that the Commission has made extensive progress in executing the core milestones outlined in the Timetable, along with hundreds of subsidiary operational tasks required to support each statutory milestone. The Commission is currently advancing toward the conclusion of the ninth critical activity on the official Timetable. To ensure operational harmony, the master Election Timetable has been converted into an integrated framework across:
23 Headquarters Departments and Directorates driving policy and operational design;
36 State Offices and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) coordinating field operations; and
774 Local Government Area (LGA) Offices executing grassroots deployment across over 176,000 polling units nationwide.
Given the varied timelines attached to different phases, several major activities have been successfully concluded, others are currently ongoing, while long-range tasks scheduled for later execution are awaiting their statutory start dates. As Election Day approaches, the Commission is progressively transitioning from strategic planning and preparation to intensified operational readiness, quality assurance, and physical deployment.

B. Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), Data Synchronisation & Nationwide PVC Collection
In compliance with Section 10 of the Electoral Act 2026, the Commission conducted a three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise:
Phase I (25th August – 10th December, 2025): Captured 2,611,266 new voters.

Phase II (5th January – 17th April, 2026): Captured 4,121,835 new voters.
Phase III (11th May – 26th July, 2026): Captured 3,867,997 new voters.
Following the conclusion of field capture, the Commission completed the public display of the Preliminary Register of Voters across all Registration Areas for claims and objections. Currently, our Information Communication Technology Department is completing the generation of the official PDF Register of Voters for nationwide display, alongside the final synchronisation of CVR data through our Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to eliminate duplicate registrations. Nigeria’s National Register of Voters is now at the historic milestone of 103 million registered citizens.
Having completed the processing and printing of new voter cards using our newly introduced Printable PVC technology, the nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) will officially commence tomorrow, Friday, 9th October 2026—the day immediately following this conference. We appeal to GOCOP and the online publisher community to leverage your expansive platforms to educate, mobilise, and direct registered citizens across the 36 States and the FCT to collect their cards at designated Local Government offices and Registration Area centers seamlessly.

C. Technological Enhancements & Result Integrity Infrastructure
Technology remains our primary bulwark against manual manipulation and administrative fraud. Building on hard lessons from previous election cycles, the Commission has instituted

major structural and firmware upgrades to our technological suite as follows:
Upgraded Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS): The BVAS devices have undergone rigorous hardware optimisation, extended battery calibration, and software hardening to ensure instant facial and fingerprint accreditation, eliminating voter impersonation and bypass attempts. The Commission has embarked on a nationwide BVAS audit to ensure the devices are working and deployment-ready. We have also procured additional BVAS based on the needs of the Commission.
eEC8A System & End-to-End Result Visibility: Building on successful field deployments in recent off-cycle elections in the FCT, Ekiti, and Osun, our enhanced eEC8A protocol digitises polling unit result sheets (Form EC8A) directly at the polling unit immediately after counting. The scanned form is cryptographically signed and transmitted simultaneously to the public view portal, ensuring complete, end-to-end result visibility that eliminates opportunities for manual alteration at intermediate collation points.
AI Auditing & Cyber Defence: In strategic partnership with global technological leaders, including Google and Microsoft, we have embedded automated AI data-auditing tools and multi-layered firewalls to shield our databases against cyber intrusions, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and unauthorised data injection.

D. Early Procurement Lead Times & Logistical Deployment Assurance

Logistical failure is the quickest destroyer of public confidence on Election Day. Late arrival of materials or polling officials creates immediate suspicion and fuels narrative distortion. To eradicate these vulnerabilities, the following measures have been taken:
Early Non-Sensitive Material Procurement: The procurement and physical delivery of non-sensitive electoral materials to all
36 State Offices and the FCT have already commenced. Commencing procurement months in advance provides adequate lead time for batching, inventory auditing, and downstream distribution to the 774 Local Government Areas well ahead of Election Day.
Fleet Acquisition & Ground Mobility: To resolve field transportation bottlenecks —especially in difficult terrains, riverine areas, and remote border settlements—the Commission has procured and commenced the distribution of brand-new operational pick-up vehicles to State Offices and LGAs nationwide.
Integrated Operational Framework: We have instituted a centralised Operational Activity Schedule that tracks material movement, storage security, and vehicle tracking in real time across every state command center.

E. Zonal Readiness Assessments, Capacity Building & Administrative Discipline
Structural readiness is only as reliable as the human beings deployed to execute it. Transparency on the outside requires uncompromising operational discipline on the inside.
Nationwide Zonal Readiness Assessments: The Commission has instituted a rigorous, hands-on Zonal Readiness

Assessment and Staff Engagement programme across all six geopolitical zones. We have already completed thorough field assessments in the South-West and North-West zones, and are progressing systematically across the remaining zones. These assessments evaluate state office infrastructure, safe storage security, logistics pathways, voter card distribution channels, and emergency response mechanisms.
Direct Leadership Engagements: During these zonal exercises, the leadership of the Commission engages directly with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), Administrative Secretaries, Heads of Department, Electoral Officers (EOs), and Assistant Electoral Officers (AEOs). These engagements serve to audit local preparedness, identify operational gaps and emerging risks early, and enforce corrective measures long before polls open.
Targeted Capacity Building: Comprehensive training programmes are currently underway across all cadres of election staff, focusing on operational administration, technology handling, conflict mitigation, and legal compliance.
Zero Tolerance for Non-Neutrality: As I told our field officers during our North-West assessment in Kaduna: “To the voter in a local ward, INEC is not the Chairman in Abuja; INEC is you.” Pursuant to Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026, every official must take a binding oath of loyalty and absolute neutrality. Partisanship, administrative carelessness, or ethical compromises will be met with immediate dismissal and statutory prosecution.
Institutional Staff Welfare: To remove financial vulnerability and reward dedication, we operationalised the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS) on 1st

January 2026, followed by a 150% increase in State Office operational overheads on 1st July, 2026.

F. Inclusive, Multi-Channel Voter Education & Public Enlightenment
A well-informed electorate is the best defence against electoral manipulation. The Commission has launched an intensified public enlightenment campaign across traditional, digital, and grassroots communication channels. Our voter education strategy focuses on demystifying voting procedures, accreditation requirements, BVAS mechanics, PVC collection workflows, and Election Day regulations. Crucially, this strategy incorporates customised outreach networks to ensure full inclusion for:
Women and Youth Organisations : Leveraging digital campaigns and peer networks;
Persons with Disabilities (PWDs): Providing braille ballot guides, tactile posters, and sign-language integration; and
Hard-to-Reach & Underserved Communities: Deploying local language broadcasts and community town halls in rural and riverine areas.

4. DIGITAL PUBLISHERS AND THE IMPERATIVE OF SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
While INEC carries the legal mandate to conduct elections, the wider democratic health of Nigeria—and indeed West Africa—depends on the information infrastructure maintained by the media, particularly online publishers. This is where the core

concept of Shared Responsibility becomes operational. We live in an era where the velocity of digital information frequently outpaces the verification of truth. Across our sub-region, election windows are increasingly targeted by coordinated information warfare, political violence narratives, synthetic media, and AI-generated deepfakes designed to inflame ethnic divides or passion and undermine institutional legitimacy:
Confronting Information Disorder: Fake news, unverified leaks, and sensationalised reports directly destroy public trust, incite civil unrest, and induce voter apathy. When an unverified claim regarding electoral fraud is published, the damage to public confidence is immediate and enduring; subsequent retractions or fact-checks rarely repair the injury.
Rejecting Clickbait Economics: In a digital attention economy driven by page-views, algorithmic engagement, and ad revenue, online publishers bearing the GOCOP stamp of quality must resist the temptation of clickbait journalism. Speed must never supersede accuracy. Being first with a false story is a costly failure; being accurate with a verified fact is a public service.
Frontline Stewards of Truth: As corporate publishers with structured editorial boards, GOCOP members act as the primary filter between raw internet noise and public understanding. When operational delays occur in the field, responsible reporting provides context and seeks official verification rather than weaponising logistical hiccups to declare systemic collapse.

5. A STRATEGIC PACT FOR 2027: WHAT INEC EXPECTS FROM GOCOP

As the nationwide collection of PVCs commences tomorrow and the 98-day countdown to the 2027 General Elections accelerates, I propose a formal three-point operational pact between INEC and GOCOP:
I. Dedicated Digital Fact-Verification: INEC will provide consisted Digital Media Fact-Verification during the election period. This will provide GOCOP journalists with direct, real-time access to verify field reports, security incidents, or technical issues before publication.
ii. Rigorous Editorial Self-Regulation: We request GOCOP to enforce strict internal sanctions against member platforms or affiliated channels that broadcast unverified polling unit results, altered result sheets, or incendiary speculative commentary.
iii. National Voter Education Strategic Partnership: We invite GOCOP members to partner with the Commission in amplifying public awareness for the nationwide PVC collection exercise launching tomorrow, Friday, 9th October 2026; ensuring that citizens receive clear and reliable information regarding collection venues, operational hours, and requirements.
6. CONCLUSION: A CALL TO DEMOCRATIC STEWARDSHIP
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, as President John F. Kennedy wisely reminded us, “Democracy is never a final achievement. It is a call to an untiring effort.” The ultimate success of the 2027 General Elections will not be measured merely by the logistical scale of our deployment, but by the transparency of our procedures, the credibility of the outcomes, and the shared commitment of all democratic stakeholders to safeguard the sanctity of the ballot box.

Under my leadership, the Independent National Electoral Commission stands firm on an unshakeable promise: our sole allegiance is to the Constitution and the law, and our absolute obligation is to the Nigerian people. INEC has no preferred candidate, no favored political party, and no institutional interest other than protecting the sacred and uncoerced will of the Nigerian voters.
To the publishers, editors, and media leaders gathered here today: you are the primary storytellers and narrative custodians of modern Nigerian democracy. As PVC collection opens across the country tomorrow, let us write a definitive chapter of operational excellence, journalistic integrity, civic maturity, and unassailable institutional trust together.
It is now my singular honour to wish the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers highly stimulating, fruitful, and impactful deliberations.
Thank you for your attention, and may God bless the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

*Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN Honourable Chairman
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Thursday, 8th October 2026