ActionAid Nigeria and other civil society organisations have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide verifiable evidence of its preparedness for Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, warning that assurances alone cannot guarantee credible polls.

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‎The organisations, including the Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, MOTION and partners, made the call in a joint statement issued in Abuja today.

Delivering the statement, the Country Director of ActionAid, Andrew Mamedu stated that the electoral credibility depends on timely distribution of election materials, impartial recruitment and adequate training of personnel, reliable technology, transparent results management and effective security arrangements.

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‎According to the group, preparations for credible elections must begin long before election day, covering the procurement and distribution of ballot papers and result sheets, training of ad hoc staff, testing of technology, cleaning of the voters’ register and coordination with security agencies.

They warned that weaknesses in any of these areas could disrupt voting, undermine public confidence and create opportunities for electoral manipulation.

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‎They recalled operational challenges during the 2023 general elections, including late arrival of materials, malfunctions of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and controversies over results transmission.

According to them, INEC’s October 2026 announcements on strengthening logistics, procuring additional BVAS devices, securing election materials and recruiting personnel are encouraging, but the Commission must demonstrate that the plans will translate into effective preparations across the country.

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‎On logistics, the organisations called for a publicly accessible plan showing distribution timelines from central storage facilities to wards, deadlines for each stage, contingency arrangements for difficult areas and mechanisms for correcting shortages before voting begins.

They noted that poor roads, insecurity, flooding and long distances could complicate the delivery of election materials, particularly in hard-to-reach communities.

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‎The groups also raised concerns about the recruitment, security and training of election personnel. They cited INEC’s confirmation that 1,414,768 ad hoc personnel would be deployed across 176,846 polling units as the voter register approaches 100 million.

ActionAid Nigeria said it had formally requested access for independent monitoring and public reporting of the ongoing recruitment exercise but was still awaiting a response from the Commission as of October 28, 2026.

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‎They further urged INEC to address concerns about the possible infiltration of recruitment lists, the protection of personnel deployed to volatile areas and the quality of training.

The organisations called for biometric certification of National Youth Service Corps personnel lists, publication of training completion rates, a reserve pool of at least 20 per cent additional personnel and disclosure of welfare provisions, including allowances, insurance and security escorts for workers in hard-to-reach areas.

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‎On technology and results management, the groups called for evidence that BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal had been tested under realistic conditions, including poor connectivity, power failures and high voter turnout.

They also demanded clear procedures for recording, uploading, reconciling and collating polling-unit results in line with Sections 60 and 64 of the Electoral Act 2022, insisting that every result must be traceable, verifiable and protected against unauthorised alteration.

The organisations urged INEC to publish its plans and demonstrate measurable progress, stressing that electoral readiness must be proven through transparency and accountability rather than declarations.