#NigeriaDecides2027: INEC CHAIRMAN ORDERS ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARIES IN 36 STATES, FCT TO CLOSE OPERATIONAL GAPS, ADOPT UNIFIED PLAYBOOK

#NigeriaDecides2027: INEC CHAIRMAN ORDERS ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARIES IN 36 STATES, FCT TO CLOSE OPERATIONAL GAPS, ADOPT UNIFIED PLAYBOOK

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has moved to tighten its operational machinery ahead of the 2027 General Election, with its Chairman, Professor Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, directing Administrative Secretaries across the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory to eliminate administrative ambiguity, strengthen coordination and ensure that no operational gap is allowed to undermine election delivery.

Prof. Amupitan gave the directive on Monday, September 7, 2026, in Lagos, as he opened a two-day Strategic Operational Workshop for INEC Administrative Secretaries, describing the exercise as a specialised, election-focused “operational boot camp” designed to test the Commission’s preparedness ahead of the 2027 polls.

The Chairman said the Commission is at a critical preparation stage for the 2027 General Election and could no longer afford different interpretations of administrative responsibilities or divergent operational practices across the country.

“We can no longer afford fragmented interpretations of administrative duties or disjointed operational practices from state to state,” he said, stressing that the Lagos workshop was designed to eliminate guesswork and align Administrative Secretaries with standardised national protocols.
The warning came against the backdrop of the Commission’s determination to convert the lessons of recent off-cycle elections, particularly the Osun State Governorship Election, into a national operational standard capable of supporting the significantly larger and more complex 2027 General Election.

Prof. Amupitan said the recent elections had demonstrated that timely logistics, functional technology and administrative discipline could translate into transparent and credible electoral outcomes.
But he cautioned that the controlled environment of a single-state election was different from a nationwide general election, making it imperative for INEC to replicate successful operational models across all 36 States and the FCT.

At the centre of the new push is the Administrative Secretary, whom the Chairman described as the Commission’s chief technical, operational and administrative anchor at state level.
While Resident Electoral Commissioners remain the political and institutional leads in the states, he said Administrative Secretaries are responsible for managing the daily machinery of state offices, maintaining administrative continuity and overseeing the operational processes that ultimately determine whether polling units open on time.

Earlier, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Lagos State, Prof. Ayobami Salami, set the tone for the workshop by urging Administrative Secretaries to approach the engagement as an opportunity to interrogate existing processes, identify institutional gaps and develop practical solutions ahead of 2027.

Welcoming the Chairman, National Commissioners, the Secretary to the Commission, South-West RECs, Directors, Administrative Secretaries, development partners and other participants to Lagos, Salami said the Commission’s approval of the two-day workshop underscored the importance it attached to strengthening the capacity and operational readiness of Administrative Secretaries.

He said their ability to coordinate people, resources, logistics, finance, infrastructure and administrative processes was directly linked to the success of electoral operations, urging participants to bring their field experiences and challenges to the table and collectively develop solutions that could improve operations in their respective states.

Salami also stressed the need for stronger coordination between administrative and technical functions, improved accountability and resilient systems capable of responding to emerging operational demands.
His remarks dovetailed with the central message of the Chairman’s keynote: that preparations for 2027 must begin from a position of institutional readiness rather than emergency response.

Prof. Amupitan said the workshop would stress-test the Commission’s procedures across five critical operational areas.
The first is Continuous Voter Registration and Permanent Voter’s Card distribution, with state-level strategies expected to support a clean voter register and efficient PVC collection as the national register approaches the 100-million-voter mark.

The second is logistics and material management, covering the receipt, auditing, secure storage, deployment and reverse logistics of sensitive and non-sensitive election materials.
The third is mastery of electoral technologies, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), eEC&A, Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC), CROMS, IOMIS and PFRAS.
The fourth is human-resource and ad-hoc staff optimisation, particularly the recruitment, vetting and technology-competency training of election personnel.

The fifth is general administration and financial compliance, including administrative discipline, workflow automation and adherence to procurement and financial regulations.

From crisis management to real-time readiness

Perhaps the most significant operational innovation announced at the workshop is the proposed Administrative Secretary Master Operational Tracker.
The Chairman said the standardised, Excel-based tracker would be linked to the Commission’s EMSC dashboard and Election Project Plan, giving the Headquarters, RECs and Supervising National Commissioners a real-time picture of readiness in the states.

The system is expected to track such critical areas as election-material distribution, ad-hoc staff training and state-level preparedness, replacing what Amupitan described as reactive “panic” with proactive management.
He said the tracker would also provide a permanent onboarding blueprint for future cohorts of Administrative Secretaries beyond the 2027 elections.

‘Your leadership matters’

The Chairman used the workshop to deliver a direct leadership message to the Administrative Secretaries.
He warned that the quality of election administration at state level would ultimately depend on the culture they establish in their offices.
“If you tolerate shortcuts, shortcuts will multiply. If you tolerate political interference, neutrality will deteriorate,” Amupitan said, while stressing that insistence on documentation, punctuality, preparedness and compliance must become part of the institutional culture.

He equally urged Administrative Secretaries to ensure that problems are reported rather than concealed, arguing that early escalation would enable the Commission to respond before operational challenges become electoral crises.

Secretary: ‘We will not allow disharmony to continue’

The Secretary to the Commission, Dr Rose Oriaran-Anthony, had earlier identified another critical area requiring attention: the working relationship between Administrative Secretaries and Resident Electoral Commissioners.
She disclosed that complaints over strained relationships between the two levels of leadership had continued to reach her, warning that such disharmony could affect the Commission’s work.

“We will not allow that to continue because where we do not have harmony, the Commission’s work will suffer,” she said.
Dr. Oriaran-Anthony urged the Administrative Secretaries to speak frankly about the challenges affecting their work, describing the workshop as a family gathering where difficult institutional issues could be confronted honestly and resolved collectively.

She said the engagement would also address lessons from the 2023 General Election, state-level financial management, logistics, assets, ad-hoc personnel, staff discipline, supervision and the management of the Commission’s image and reputation.
DAI pledges continued support
A former INEC National Commissioner and Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) expert, Professor Okechukwu Ibeanu, commended the Commission for organising the workshop, describing the initiative as innovative and long overdue.

Representing the EU-SEGN DAI project, Prof. Ibeanu assured INEC of continued support, noting that the development partners had committed resources and expertise to strengthening the capacity of the Administrative Secretaries ahead of the 2027 election.
He said the depth of experience available among the Commission’s current and retired senior officials represented a valuable institutional resource that should be harnessed in the preparations for 2027.

With the workshop now underway, the message from Lagos is unmistakable: INEC intends to enter the 2027 General Election with its state-level machinery tested, aligned and operationally ready—and the Administrative Secretaries are being placed at the centre of that preparation.

The Chairman subsequently declared the Strategic Operational Workshop on the 2027 General Election for INEC Administrative Secretaries officially open.