*As National Voter Register Hits 200 Million
By Tony Ezimakor, Abuja
As preparation for the 2027 general elections gathers momentum, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it is poised to roll out a first-of-its-kind, real-time readiness tracker that will allow it to instantly monitor election preparations across all 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This is as the commission disclosed that the national voter register is approaching the historic 100 million mark ahead of the 2027 elections.
Chairman of the Commission, Prof Joash Amupitan, disclosed these on Monday, 7 September (today) while declaring open a two-day Strategic Operational Workshop for Administrative Secretaries, held at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
Prof Amupitan said the workshop would produce a standardised, Excel-based Administrative Secretary Master Operational Tracker Template, linked directly to the Commission’s Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC) dashboard and the Election Project Plan (EPP).
Prof Amupitan observed that the Commission had historically lacked a dedicated, uniform mechanism for tracking the operational duties of Administrative Secretaries, describing the new tool as one that would bridge that institutional gap.
Once deployed, INEC said the tracker will give Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), Supervising National Commissioners, the Secretary to the Commission and Headquarters instant visibility into material distribution, ad-hoc staff training and State-level readiness, replacing what he called “reactive panic with proactive management.”
The Chairman said the innovation would also outlive the 2027 exercise, serving as a permanent onboarding blueprint for future generations of Administrative Secretaries.
He linked the initiative to the Commission’s drive to keep the voter register clean and PVC collection seamless as enrolment closes in on 100 million, describing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) as one of five operational pillars under review at the workshop, alongside logistics and material management, electoral technology, ad-hoc staff optimisation, and financial compliance.
Prof Amupitan said the tracker initiative builds on lessons drawn from recent off-cycle elections, including the Osun State Governorship Election, where disciplined logistics and functioning technology delivered a transparent outcome.
He said the Commission was now working to replicate that standard nationally, in the six-month window remaining before the 2027 general elections.
In his remarks, the REC for Lagos State, Prof Ayobami Salami, described the workshop as coming at an auspicious time in the Commission’s preparations, and commended the European Union (EU), through the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN), implemented with Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), for supporting the exercise.
Also speaking, Secretary to the Commission, Mrs Rose Oriaran-Anthony, said the workshop would ensure Headquarters and all States operate from the same Election Project Plan, while equipping Administrative Secretaries with updated knowledge of new policies, technology and administrative procedures ahead of 2027.
She said every State delegation was expected to leave the workshop with a logistics risk register, an ad-hoc recruitment and deployment plan, and a stakeholder engagement plan for the next three months, alongside the new tracker template.
The workshop, organised under the auspices of the Office of the Secretary to the Commission with support from DAI-EUSDGN, drew participation from National Commissioners, RECs, Director-General of The Electoral Institute, Directors from Headquarters, and Administrative Secretaries from the 36 States and FCT.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Amupitan.
