Distrust in INEC threatens Nigeria’s 2027 election
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Business Day Nigeria
Distrust in Nigeria’s electoral commission INEC is growing ahead of the 2027 general elections, with accusations of electoral register manipulation and a lack of neutrality. On 12 November, protesters called for INEC chairman Joash Amupitan to resign in London, Business Day Nigeria reports.
Public trust in Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is being tested ahead of the federal presidential and legislative elections on 16 January 2027 and the gubernatorial and state assembly elections on 6 February. Accusations of electoral register manipulation and a lack of neutrality are fuelling concerns about the credibility of the process, Business Day Nigeria reports.
On 12 November, protesters in London blocked Joash Amupitan’s vehicle outside Chatham House and called for his departure, accusing the commission of favouring President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his APC party. Amupitan, who has been in office since October 2025, defended his record, citing in particular results announced on time in several elections, and said his loyalty was to the Constitution and the electoral law.
The distrust is part of a longer-standing trend: according to an Afrobarometer survey conducted before the 2023 general elections, 23% of Nigerians said they trusted INEC, while 78% expressed little or no trust. It comes after 1.61 million registrations deemed invalid were removed from the electoral register on 9 November, followed by the removal of photographs generated by artificial intelligence on 11 November. These measures have fuelled debate over the reliability of the register ahead of the 2027 election.
