The National Register of Voters has risen to more than 103 million, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acquiring 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at a Strategic Workshop for Editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in collaboration with the commission.

Amupitan said the development formed part of the commission’s efforts to strengthen the technological and operational framework for the elections scheduled for January and February 2027.

He said the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise produced 10,772,421 new registrations, subject to the conclusion of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) verification.

According to him, Phase One of the CVR, conducted between August 25 and December 10, 2025, recorded 2,611,266 new registrants, while Phase Two, held from January 5 to April 17, 2026, produced 4,121,835 registrations.
He added that the third phase, conducted between May 11 and July 26, 2026, recorded 3,867,997 new registrations.

Following the completion of the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections and the final ABIS clean-up, Amupitan said the national register now contained more than 103 million voters.

He also announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would commence on Friday, October 9, urging the media to intensify public enlightenment on collection centres and encourage registered voters to collect their cards.

On technology, the INEC chairman said the commission had acquired 57,000 new BVAS machines and subjected its existing technological infrastructure to software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration.

He said the measures were designed to strengthen voter accreditation, prevent bypass of biometric verification and reduce opportunities for manual manipulation during the elections.

Amupitan also disclosed that the commission had enhanced the eEC8A result management system, under which polling unit result sheets would be digitised, cryptographically authenticated and uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

He said INEC was equally deploying artificial intelligence-based anomaly detection tools to monitor database traffic and protect its public portals against cyberattacks and unauthorised alterations.

The chairman said the technological upgrades were necessary to reinforce public confidence in the electoral process, warning that technological improvements alone would not guarantee credible elections without transparency and public trust.

He said the 2027 elections were now only 101 days away, stressing that the credibility of the process would depend on sustained cooperation among INEC, the media and civil society organisations.

Amupitan urged editors to play a more active role in combating misinformation and disinformation, particularly as the election season intensifies.

He warned that deepfakes, manipulated audio-visual materials, coordinated fake news campaigns and premature declaration of election results could undermine public confidence and threaten democratic stability.

He called on news organisations to strengthen fact-checking and verification mechanisms and to cross-check sensitive electoral information with official sources before publication.

The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission had begun nationwide readiness assessments, with physical audits already completed in the South-West and North-West geopolitical zones.

He said the assessments covered electoral facilities, secure storage, security protocols and logistics deployment networks, with the remaining four zones to be assessed subsequently.

Amupitan further warned political parties and candidates against vote-buying, electoral violence and hate speech, saying the commission would work with security and anti-corruption agencies to monitor illegal campaign financing and financial inducement of voters.

He assured Nigerians that INEC had no preferred candidate or political party, declaring that its sole objective was to deliver free, fair, transparent and credible elections.

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has called for a stronger and more structured partnership between the media and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rebuild public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.

NGE President, Eze Anaba, made the call on Monday in Abuja while speaking at the INEC–NGE Strategic Workshop, organised by the electoral commission in collaboration with the Guild.

Anaba said the engagement was particularly important as Nigeria approaches another round of elections, stressing that the credibility of the democratic process remained a matter of profound national importance.

He said elections were not simply about casting ballots, but fundamentally about trust and citizens’ confidence that their votes would count and that electoral institutions would conduct the process transparently, fairly and professionally.
“The media has a critical role in building and sustaining that trust,” Anaba said, noting that editors and journalists determine, to a significant extent, the information that reaches the public, how it is presented and the context in which it is understood.

He said the responsibility required the media to uphold accuracy, fairness, balance and the public interest in its coverage of electoral activities.

According to him, however, the media could not effectively perform its watchdog and public enlightenment roles without credible, timely and accessible information from the electoral management body.

He expressed concern over the growing influence of misinformation, disinformation, manipulated content, deepfakes and partisan narratives, which he said had made regular and transparent communication between INEC and the media increasingly important.
Anaba therefore urged both institutions to build their relationship around openness, mutual respect and continuous engagement.

He said the workshop provided an opportunity for INEC and media leaders to critically examine existing challenges and develop practical strategies for improving electoral communication and reporting.
“How can INEC communicate more effectively with the public? How can editors and journalists report electoral processes more accurately? How do we collectively confront disinformation without undermining legitimate criticism?” he asked.

He also challenged participants to explore how the media’s enormous reach and influence could be harnessed to strengthen citizens’ confidence in elections.

The NGE president stressed that credible elections were a shared responsibility involving INEC, political parties, candidates, the media and the electorate.
“INEC has its constitutional mandate; political parties and candidates have their responsibilities; the media has its own obligations; and ultimately, citizens must be adequately informed and empowered to participate in the democratic process,” he said.

Anaba further argued that the credibility of the media was inseparable from the credibility of the electoral process, urging editors and journalists to recognise the responsibility that came with their role in shaping public understanding of elections.

He called on participants to approach the workshop with “candour, open-mindedness and a willingness to listen”, adding that the engagement should enable stakeholders to identify gaps in their existing relationship and confront electoral communication challenges honestly.

The Guild, he said, remained committed to working with INEC and other stakeholders to promote elections that Nigerians could trust and a media that citizens could rely upon for credible information.
Anaba expressed confidence that the workshop would not be a one-off engagement, but would mark the beginning of a stronger, more structured and continuous partnership between INEC and the Nigerian media.

He wished participants fruitful deliberations and meaningful outcomes.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have clashed over former Rivers State governor and ADC vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, following his claim that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu made it difficult for him to afford medication for his late mother.

The exchange began after Amaechi, in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, linked his mother’s death to the rising cost of medicines under the Tinubu administration. He said his mother had been healthy before Tinubu assumed office in 2023 but that the rising cost of drugs subsequently made it difficult for him to provide the medication she required.

Amaechi’s mother, Dame Ezinne Mary Oduah Amaechi, died in July at the age of 89.

Reacting in a statement on Sunday, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, dismissed Amaechi’s account and turned his criticism on the former governor’s financial circumstances, accusing him of depending on public office for his livelihood.

Morka described Amaechi as a “loafer, aimless and irresponsible” for allegedly being unable to earn a living outside public office, while listing his previous positions as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, governor, Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant.

The APC also mocked Amaechi over his reported financial difficulties after leaving office, alleging that he had become “destitute” only three years after leaving public service. It further accused him of seeking the ADC vice-presidential ticket in 2027 as a means of returning to public resources.

The party said the presidency “is not a soup kitchen” for Amaechi, arguing that his own account of his financial circumstances raised questions about his suitability for the vice-presidency.

But the ADC Presidential Campaign Council hit back, accusing the ruling party of political cruelty and of turning a family bereavement into an occasion for partisan attack.

In a statement issued through its Director of Strategic Communications, Phrank Shaibu, the council said the appropriate response to Amaechi’s account should have been compassion rather than ridicule.
“If Rotimi Amaechi says he struggled to afford his mother’s medication, the humane response is compassion,” Shaibu said, arguing that the issue should instead draw attention to the wider difficulty Nigerians face in paying for healthcare and other basic necessities.

Shaibu also rejected Morka’s description of Amaechi as a “loafer”, saying Nigerians struggling to afford treatment, electricity and transportation should not be dismissed as irresponsible.

He accused the Tinubu administration of failing to adequately address what he described as deteriorating conditions in the economy, roads, electricity, security and public welfare. “The reality is plain: the roads are bad, the economy is bad, electricity is bad, security is bad and the welfare of the people is bad,” Shaibu said.

He challenged the APC to explain the condition of roads across the country, particularly in the South-East, arguing that rising public expenditure had yet to translate into affordable healthcare, reliable electricity and safe roads for many Nigerians. “The APC cannot boast about trillions in public spending while Nigerians lack safe roads, reliable electricity and affordable healthcare,” he said.

The ADC spokesman said the controversy should not be reduced to Amaechi’s personal circumstances, arguing that the rising cost of medicines and other essentials affects millions of Nigerians.

He urged Morka to account for the Federal Government’s record rather than attack Amaechi personally, while calling for respect for the former governor’s family during its period of bereavement.

The latest exchange has brought Amaechi, who is the ADC’s vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 election, directly into another political confrontation between the opposition party and the APC as both sides intensify their attacks ahead of the elections.

The APC has focused its response on Amaechi’s record in public office and his claim of financial difficulty, while the ADC has used the controversy to broaden the argument to the cost of living, healthcare and the impact of the Tinubu administration’s economic policies.