2027: INEC Projects Over 100m Registered Voters, Plans Robust Communication Strategy

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has projected that Nigeria’s registered voter population will exceed 100 million ahead of the 2027 General Election.

National Commissioner and Chairman of the Commission’s Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mallam Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at INEC’s Joint Implementation Meeting of the Departments of Voter Education and Publicity (VEP) and Gender and Inclusivity (G&I) for the 2027 General Election.

The meeting was convened to develop a comprehensive communication and inclusivity roadmap aimed at ensuring that the 2027 elections are free, fair, credible, peaceful and inclusive.

Haruna said the existing voters’ register, which contains more than 93 million registered voters, is expected to cross the 100 million mark when the recently concluded nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise is finalised.

He said the projected figure would further strengthen Nigeria’s position as Africa’s largest electoral democracy.

With 151 days to the first phase of the 2027 elections, Haruna charged INEC information officers to intensify voter education and publicity efforts to mobilise all eligible Nigerians to participate in the electoral process.

“Our job is to give the widest and most effective publicity to all five sets of elections to mobilise all Nigerians of voting age to choose their leaders. This job is at once simple and complex,” he said.

Haruna stressed that managing communication for more than 100 million voters required high professional standards, urging information officers to acquire relevant communication skills and understand the legal framework governing elections.

He said officers must communicate in simple and civil language while having a firm knowledge of the Constitution, Electoral Act and INEC guidelines.

He also urged them to familiarise themselves with other relevant legislation, including the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act.

According to him, the successes recorded in recent off-cycle elections, including the Osun State governorship election, had raised the bar and required greater effort to deliver what he described as the freest and most credible general elections in Nigeria’s history.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment under Prof. Joash Amupitan to delivering credible and inclusive elections.

Oketola described the meeting as timely and crucial to developing an actionable communication and inclusivity roadmap, assuring that the outcome would be implemented by the Commission.

He said while technology and logistics remained the backbone of electoral administration, the VEP and G&I departments constituted the human face and voice of INEC.

“You build public trust, simplify complex procedures, and ensure that no eligible citizen is left behind,” Oketola said.

He, however, warned that the communication environment ahead of the 2027 elections would be challenged by misinformation and disinformation capable of undermining voter confidence and fuelling electoral apathy.

He said the antidote was proactive, factual and continuous public engagement.

“Our messaging must move beyond traditional announcement-style publicity into aggressive, daily civic education that demystifies our technology, such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Results Viewing (IReV), and reinforces the integrity of the open secret ballot system,” he said.

On gender and inclusivity, Oketola said electoral access for persons with disabilities, women, youths and elderly voters remained a constitutional right.

He said INEC would strengthen measures such as the provision of Braille ballot guides and magnifying glasses, prioritisation of vulnerable voters in queues and expanded youth participation through Continuous Voter Registration.

“2027 must set a new benchmark for electoral access in Nigeria,” he said.

The Director of Voter Education and Publicity, GVictoria Eta-Messi, said the success of INEC’s grassroots voter sensitisation and enlightenment programmes depended largely on the capacity and efficiency of VEP heads of department, who serve as drivers of the Commission’s programmes in their respective states.

Eta-Messi said the implementation meeting would provide clarity and direction while ensuring uniformity in the execution of voter education and inclusivity activities across the country.

“The off-cycle governorship elections are out of the way, and what lies ahead is the 2027 general election, and going by the line of activities of both departments, this meeting takes precedence and sets the tone for what lies ahead,” she said.

She added that the meeting would provide a platform for the departments to guide participants through Commission-approved activities, outline implementation strategies and ensure that timelines and expectations were clearly understood.

The meeting was attended by heads of VEP and G&I departments from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.