The Independent National Electoral Commission has started sending non-sensitive materials to some states for the 2027 general elections. This is part of their effort to prepare for the upcoming polls.
INEC National Commissioner, Prof Rhoda Gumus, shared this news on Thursday in Abuja. She spoke during a meeting with a group from Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, led by the country’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina.
Gumus mentioned that the commission has finished nine planned activities. They are increasing their preparations after checking their readiness in all six geopolitical zones.
She explained that the assessment involved visiting these zones. The goal was to see how ready they are, spot any challenges, and find areas that need attention before the elections.
"We have six zones in Nigeria. The purpose is to go around the zones to see how prepared we are, assess what the zones have put in place, the challenges and what to do," she said.
Gumus said the commission feels good about the progress and has started moving non-sensitive materials to some zones.
"Right now, all non-sensitive materials are almost ready. In fact, today as we speak here, the non-sensitive materials have been lifted to some zones now. I spoke to the commissioner in charge of that," Gumus said.
She also shared that they have finished producing Permanent Voter Cards. Most states have received the first and second batches, and collection is ongoing.
Gumus described collecting PVCs as a key part of the preparations. She emphasized that eligible voters need to get their cards before the elections.
INEC is also training staff at its headquarters and state offices to better prepare for the electoral process. They are working on getting the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System ready.
On the topic of aspirant voting, Gumus said they cannot move forward with this idea unless the Electoral Act is changed.
"Here, because we go by the law, in our electoral law, it is not included there, so we cannot go on with aspirant voting for now until we amend the electoral law," she said.
The acting chairman said INEC has set up sessions for its directors to meet with the visiting Kenyan group. They will share experiences and provide technical details on managing elections.
Kenya’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina, said the visit was to learn from Nigeria’s election experience as Kenya prepares for its general elections in August 2027.
He noted that both countries have similar electoral challenges, even though they differ in population and size.
"Next year, Kenya will also be in August holding general elections in August. So we are also in that preparation. We may not have the same scale in terms of geography and population, but we have quite a lot of issues that we share," he said.
Parashina said the delegation was particularly interested in Nigeria’s approach to diaspora voting and arrangements for special interest groups.
He added that Kenya wants to improve voting opportunities for citizens living abroad. The electoral commission is looking into ways to increase participation.
About 12 countries took part in Kenya’s diaspora voting during the last elections, but they hope to expand this number to about 26.
"Currently we have about 12 of them that have voted in the last general election, but there is intention to expand to around, I think, 26," he said.
The envoy praised Nigeria’s electoral experience as valuable for other African nations. He mentioned that Kenya wants to strengthen ties with INEC.
"The success of Nigeria remains a great success to Kenya and indeed to the continent. Everyone is looking at what Nigeria will do because it’s the biggest democracy in Africa," Parashina said.
He thanked INEC for welcoming the delegation and wished them success in their preparations for the 2027 elections.
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