Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, on Thursday identified the nation’s weak communication infrastructure as a major obstacle to achieving free, fair, and credible elections.
Amupitan said the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System has significantly reshaped the electoral process by ensuring that only properly accredited voters are allowed to cast their ballots, eliminating over-voting and manual interference.
He added that the INEC Result Viewing Portal has further strengthened transparency by making election results accessible to the public in real time on Election Day, setting a new standard for trust in the system.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting organised by the Civil Society Situation Room, the INEC chairman noted that Nigeria’s democracy continues to grapple with the harmful effects of misinformation, vote-buying, rigging and electoral violence. He stressed that safeguarding the democratic process requires a proactive and coordinated multi-sectoral response.
“Second, the concept of building consensus for credible elections is vital to this discourse in that credible elections are the undisputed, non-negotiable foundation of democracy. However, credibility is a public trust built only when all stakeholders (political parties, the media, security agencies, civil society, and INEC) agree on and abide by the electoral rules and principles.
“Accountable governance, which is the third plank of today’s theme, borders on the quality of governance a credible election produces. If the process is just, the government is legitimate, and legitimacy is the bedrock of political accountability.
“When citizens believe their votes count, they empower themselves to hold their leaders to the highest standards. Therefore, today’s theme (Securing Nigeria’s Democracy: Building Consensus for Credible Elections and Accountable Governance) is fundamentally about how consensus yields credible elections, which in turn secures the mandate for accountable governance, thereby securing Nigeria’s democracy. This synergy is the future we must strive for.
“At the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), our strategic response to the imperative of credibility has been the systemic infusion of technology, legally backed by the Electoral Act 2022, into our electoral system.
“The deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has fundamentally redefined the process. It ensured that only genuinely accredited voters could cast their ballot, closing the door on over-voting and manual manipulation.
“Also, the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal has opened the electoral process to the world, making results available for public scrutiny on Election Day. This transparency is the new baseline for trust in our process.
“However, technology is not a panacea. The nation’s telecommunications network remains a formidable obstacle. With over 176,000 Polling Units, some of which are in remote areas, achieving real-time upload of all results to the IReV remains one of our toughest operational battles.
“As I have stated before, a tool like the BVAS is only as good as the network it runs on. We are, therefore, committed to continuous engagement with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and network providers while actively exploring alternative technologies and building system redundancy to bridge these gaps.”
Prof. Amupitan said further that even with technology, the nation must collectively confront the persistent low turnout that threatens the very legitimacy of democracy in the country.
He said, “The 2023 General Elections recorded a turnout of just over 27%, a stark reminder that apathy cannot be solved by technology alone. Our recent successes in mobilisation, as witnessed in Anambra State, provide a vital roadmap in this regard.
“Following the conclusion of the database clean-up, the final register for that election stood at 2,802,790 voters. Note that only 63.9% of Anambra voters had initially collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). By proactively extending the PVC collection period across all 326 Registration Areas in the state, we drove the percentage of collected PVCs to an impressive 98.80% of registered voters before Election Day.
“This result demonstrates what is possible if more voters are actively mobilised to register and also collect their PVCs. This is where the consensus and partnership with Civil Society Organisations, community leaders, and the media, among other key stakeholders, is indispensable.
“The drive for inclusion and participation finds its strongest expression in our commitment to the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. This process is vital for ensuring the integrity and completeness of our national register.
“Since the CVR exercise began, we have worked tirelessly to bring the registration process closer to the citizens. I am pleased to share the latest encouraging data reflecting the nationwide response. As of our most recent update, the Commission has recorded a nationwide total of 2,685,725 completed registrations.
“Of this figure, 1,576,137 individuals completed the online pre-registration, while 1,109,588 finalised their registration through physical capture. This mobilisation is a testament to the rising political awareness, and we commend the states leading the charge:
“Osun State firmly maintains its lead with 208,357 registered voters. It is closely followed by Kano (159,669), Sokoto (152,650), and Imo (145,561). States like Borno (123,835) and Lagos (123,484) also reflect this impressive mobilisation of citizens.
“This crucial exercise was scheduled to conclude its first quarter yesterday, Tuesday, December 10, 2025. We urge all stakeholders, especially civil society organisations and the media, to sustain the momentum and ensure every eligible Nigerian is registered before the final conclusion of the exercise.”
The INEC chairman maintained that “to secure democracy, technological integrity must be matched by political accountability. We recognise that vote-buying and financial inducement derail the will of the people. To combat this, we have intensified our collaboration with law enforcement agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
“The strategic deployment of security personnel and covert intelligence operations at election centres is designed to protect voters from intimidation and resist inducement. This is a multi-sectoral fight that requires collective resolve. Civil Society Organisations must play their part decisively to hold all stakeholders, including political parties, to account.
“The Situation Room, as the leading civil society network, is indispensable in advancing this consensus by monitoring compliance, promoting civic education, and holding the Commission and all actors to the highest standards of the law and procedure.
“Building consensus for credible elections is not a destination; it is a continuous journey of innovation, transparency, and resilience. Our vision moving forward is to strengthen collaboration to mitigate connectivity challenges, simplify our user interfaces to minimise human error, and harness the power of emerging technologies to ensure equitable voter access.
“We will continue to strengthen our digital infrastructure, simplify our processes, and collaborate with security agencies to protect the voter and the vote. The future of Nigerian democracy is not in doubt. By affirming our commitment to the rule of law and the sanctity of the vote, and by consistently implementing an electoral process that is beyond reproach, we will successfully build a democratic system that is both just and accountable.”
