INEC to Update Nigerians as 2027 Election Countdown Begins

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will hold a press conference and a national stakeholders’ meeting on Tuesday. This is as the countdown to the 2027 general elections reaches 100 days.

INEC said the event will give Nigerians and other stakeholders updates on how preparations are going. This includes the voters’ register, candidate nominations, logistics, and steps to protect the election process.

INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan, who is a professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), will speak at the event. Other important figures involved in the election process will also be present.

A statement from Mr Amupitan’s spokesperson, Adedayo Oketola, mentioned that the meeting aims to boost transparency, public communication, and teamwork among those involved in the elections.

The meeting will gather political party leaders, security agencies from the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), diplomats, development partners, civil society organizations, observer groups, disability rights advocates, religious and traditional leaders, youth organizations, and media representatives.

The event is set for 10 a.m. on Tuesday at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre (BAT-ICC) in Abuja.

INEC stated that attendance is by invitation only. Accredited media representatives and guests must show their invitation cards or accreditation badges at security points.

The commission also announced that the event will be broadcast live on major national TV networks and streamed on its official social media pages.

INEC has planned the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections for 16 January 2027. The governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will take place on 6 February 2027.

The commission has released the final list of presidential candidates. Eighteen political parties are fielding candidates for the presidential election. Sixteen candidates are men, and two are women.

President Bola Tinubu is running for re-election with the All Progressives Congress (APC). Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), while former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi is running with the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).

Other candidates include Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), Donald Duke of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Oluseyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The final list also has candidates from the Action Alliance, Action Democratic Party, Allied Peoples Party, Boot Party, Democratic Leadership Alliance, National Democratic Party, National Rescue Movement, Young Progressive Party, and Zenith Labour Party.

The upcoming presidential election will be the first major election organized under Mr Amupitan, who took over as INEC chairman in 2025.