The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun configuring its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines ahead of the 2027 general elections, while disclsoing plans to deploy Nigerian Air Force jets to airlift non-sensitive election materials to states across the country.
Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Haruna Mohammed, confirmed the developments to Sunday PUNCH, explaining that the early configuration of the devices is necessary due to the time required to prepare them nationwide.
“The BVAS are already being configured. It takes a while to configure them, so we have to start early,” Mohammed said.
He noted that logistics operations are already underway with military air support. “The distribution of the non-sensitive materials for the 2027 election is already on. As we speak, Air Force jets are currently deploying materials to states,” he stated.
According to INEC’s official timetable, the presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, followed by the governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls on February 6, 2027. Campaigning for the national elections will conclude on January 14, while state-level campaigns end on February 4.
The update follows an earlier disclosure by INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, during a meeting on Thursday in Abuja with a delegation from Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, led by Kenya’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina.
Gumus revealed that the commission had already executed nine scheduled activities on its electoral calendar and conducted readiness assessments across all six geopolitical zones to identify and resolve logistical challenges early.
“We have six zones in Nigeria. The purpose is to go around the zones to see how prepared we are, assess what the zones have put in place, the challenges and what to do,” she explained.
Expressing satisfaction with the progress recorded, Gumus confirmed that the movement of non-sensitive materials had commenced in earnest. “Right now, all non-sensitive materials are almost ready. In fact, today, as we speak here, the non-sensitive materials have been lifted to some zones now. I spoke to the commissioner in charge of that,” she added.
For additional context on INEC’s logistics rollout and preparations ahead of the polls, see the report on INEC starting the distribution of non-sensitive materials.
