The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued a stern warning that anyone who threatens, intimidates, or attacks electoral personnel during the 2027 general elections will face the full weight of the law.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, delivered the warning in Port Harcourt on Saturday during the Commission’s South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement. He emphasized that the safety of ad-hoc staff, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, and permanent personnel remains non-negotiable.
”Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger… Anyone who attempts to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will be brought to justice,” Amupitan declared.
Addressing persistent historical complaints regarding delayed voting, Prof. Amupitan assured Nigerians that the era of late arrivals at polling units is over.
To tackle difficult coastal and riverine terrain in the Niger Delta, INEC has partnered with the Maritime Transporters Union via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to guarantee secure, timely movement of materials.
To cut down long queues and speed up the voting process, the voter threshold for deploying additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) units has been slashed from 1,250 to 850 voters per polling unit.
The Commission has transitioned from reactive Election Day responses to an intelligence-driven framework—the ICCES Tentacle—coordinating military, police, and intelligence agencies across 60 major operational formations in the South-South.
Highlighting the region’s electoral significance, INEC revealed that the South-South accounts for 15,823,550 registered voters (15.3% of the national total), with Rivers State alone contributing 3,736,434 voters across its 23 Local Government Areas.
As part of the ongoing tour, Prof. Amupitan paid a courtesy visit to the Paramount Ruler of Port Harcourt, Eze Epara Rebisi XII, soliciting traditional backing to mobilize residents, encourage Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection, and counter social media misinformation. In response, the monarch pledged total community support on the condition that INEC maintains strict impartiality.
With the Presidential and National Assembly elections set for January 16, 2027, and Governorship polls following on February 6, 2027, INEC has completed nine of its 14 major statutory milestones as it targets a seamless nationwide exercise across 176,846 polling units.
