2027: INEC Moves to Tackle Voter Apathy, Disinformation
- Partners NOA, CSOs, traditional rulers
Sunday Ehigiator
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stepped up efforts to tackle voter apathy and disinformation ahead of the 2027 general elections, partnering the National Orientation Agency (NOA), civil society organisations (CSOs) and traditional rulers to mobilise voters nationwide.
Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, disclosed this in response to enquiries by THISDAY, outlining measures being taken by the commission to improve voter participation, strengthen election technology and address security concerns.
Oketola said, “To boost voter turnout for the 2027 general election—with our voter register now standing at over 103 million registered citizens—the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has already embarked on Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection nationwide and also addressed the bottlenecks associated with the process, while upgrading core technology like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the IReV portal to guarantee fast, transparent accreditation and seamless result verification.”
On efforts to make voting more accessible, he said, “Recognising that accessibility is essential to civic participation, INEC is using voter register data to deploy targeted assistive tools and enforce priority voting for over 232,000 registered Persons with Disabilities, elderly citizens, and nursing mothers.”
He said the commission was also expanding voter education and grassroots outreach in partnership with civil society organisations and community leaders, while strengthening efforts to counter disinformation.
“Simultaneously, the commission is prioritising voter education and expanding grassroots outreach in partnership with civil society organisations (CSOs) and community leaders, while running active fact-checking operations to counter online disinformation that drives voter apathy,” Oketola said.
He added that INEC had partnered NOA “to educate and mobilise citizens across the country to overcome civic indifference.”
On traditional rulers’ involvement, Oketola said the commission had taken its campaign against voter apathy directly to the grassroots by engaging traditional rulers in the South-west, South-east and North-west during its ongoing readiness assessment tours.
“During these engagements, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, appealed directly to the traditional rulers, encouraging them to mobilise their people to come out and vote on election day while steadfastly eschewing violence,” he said.
Oketola said INEC was also working with security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to address safety concerns that could discourage voters from participating in the elections.
“Through precision-led security deployments, the commission was able to ensure peaceful conduct of the Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun off-cycle governorship elections, the FCT Area Council Polls, and 16 bye-elections across the country under the leadership of Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN,” he said.
He added that the commission would use risk mapping to identify and address potential threats early.
“By using risk mapping to neutralise potential threats early, the commission aims to ensure all 176,846 polling units nationwide serve as safe, peaceful, and accessible environments for every Nigerian voter,” Oketola said.