By JOANNA ILUSANMI

INEC Raises Staff Salaries, Increases State Office Funding Ahead of 2027 Elections

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved a new salary structure, enhanced allowances and a 150 per cent increase in monthly overhead allocations to its state offices as it intensifies preparations for the 2027 general elections.

The commission also directed its personnel to suspend further annual leave and warned that absenteeism, negligence, political partisanship and financial misconduct would attract disciplinary sanctions.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, announced the measures on Friday in Lokoja, Kogi State, during the North-Central Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 general election.

New Salary Structure & Improved Staff Welfare

Amupitan explained that the welfare reforms were designed to strengthen staff motivation, improve operational efficiency and prepare the commission for elections involving more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units.

He disclosed that the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), which replaced the conventional civil service salary arrangement, took effect on 1 January 2026.

Although processes for cash-backing the new structure remain ongoing, the commission has also approved enhanced salary, hazard and field allowance packages for its personnel.

Furthermore, INEC increased monthly overhead allocations to state offices by 150 per cent with effect from July 1, 2026. According to the chairman, the additional funding should strengthen the capacity of state offices to carry out their responsibilities.

Vehicles & Logistics for Election Operations

Beyond staff welfare, the commission has taken steps to improve its transportation and logistics arrangements.

Amupitan said INEC had distributed operational pick-up vehicles to state and Local Government Area offices nationwide. In addition, the commission procured 20 Sports Utility Vehicles for Resident Electoral Commissioners.

Administrative Secretaries will also receive new vehicles to support their responsibilities.

However, the chairman stressed that improved working conditions and logistics must go hand in hand with professionalism, discipline and political neutrality.

He therefore directed Resident Electoral Commissioners and Administrative Secretaries to strengthen attendance monitoring and enforce accountability across their offices.

“Every staff member must remain neutral, professional and committed to the electoral process. Partisanship, negligence, financial impropriety and absenteeism will not be tolerated,” he said.

BVAS, Electronic Results & Voter Registration

Meanwhile, INEC is strengthening its technological infrastructure to improve voter accreditation and electronic management of election results.

The chairman disclosed that the commission had procured 57,000 additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices, which were undergoing configuration alongside existing equipment.

Similarly, electronic result management platforms, including the eEC8A verification system, were undergoing audits to strengthen the transparency of polling-unit result transmission to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

The commission has also activated Printable Permanent Voter Cards and a digital PVC Location Portal to make it easier for registered voters to access their cards.

Regarding voter registration, Amupitan said INEC had published the preliminary voters’ register for public scrutiny. He added that the certified Register of Voters would be released on December 15, 2026.

He also addressed concerns about photographs appearing on the preliminary register, explaining that the information remained subject to verification before publication of the final document.

Security Measures & Fight Against Misinformation

In addition to technological preparations, the commission has identified insecurity and misinformation as major threats to the credibility of the 2027 elections.

To address these challenges, Amupitan announced a strengthened security coordination framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle”, operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security.

The arrangement will extend security coordination from the national level to Local Government Areas and Registration Area Centres. Consequently, participating agencies will be better positioned to identify potential flashpoints, protect election personnel and materials, and ensure voters can reach polling units without intimidation.

The participating institutions include the military, police, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Customs, Immigration, Correctional Service and Federal Road Safety Corps.

INEC will also deploy Electoral Risk Management tools to identify security threats and seasonal factors that could disrupt election activities.

Amupitan warned that anyone who threatened, intimidated or harmed ad-hoc electoral personnel, National Youth Service Corps members or permanent staff would face the full weight of the law.

He equally cautioned against fabricated media content and artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes, noting that such material could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.

According to him, transparent administration and efficient field operations remain the strongest safeguards against misinformation. He explained that delayed polling-unit openings, technical failures and misconduct by electoral personnel could create opportunities for false narratives to spread.

North-Central Zone Records Over 15 Million Voters

The chairman described the North-Central assessment as particularly important because of the region’s strategic position and its combined 15,448,869 registered voters.

The figure covers Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory. Benue has 2,777,727 registered voters, while Plateau has 2,787,273. Niger accounts for 2,698,344, Kogi 1,932,654, Nasarawa 1,899,244, Kwara 1,698,627 and the FCT 1,655,000.

Amupitan said the assessment would help identify operational weaknesses before election day, incorporate local challenges into national planning and prevent administrative or logistical failures from disenfranchising voters.

He further disclosed that INEC had completed nine of the 14 major milestones in its statutory election timetable. Nevertheless, he urged personnel to sustain their efforts because the remaining activities required close attention as the polls approached.

The presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.

Kogi INEC Office Intensifies Preparations

Earlier, Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Alhaji Shehu L. Wahab, said the state office was intensifying preparations despite additional responsibilities arising from the restoration of 12 previously suppressed state constituencies.

He listed internal preparations, electoral risk management, election monitoring, security coordination and voter awareness programmes for persons with disabilities among the office’s ongoing activities.

Wahab also said INEC was collaborating with security agencies to address the perception of Kogi as a violence-prone state during elections.

Similarly, the Director of Planning and Monitoring, Mrs Helen Ajayi, explained that the zonal assessment was designed to evaluate state offices’ readiness, identify logistical and operational challenges, improve staff motivation and monitor the implementation of the commission’s strategic plans.

She urged Electoral Officers and other field personnel to cooperate with the assessment teams and work closely with the Planning and Monitoring Department to address identified gaps.

The Lokoja engagement brought together National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, directors, Administrative Secretaries, heads of departments and Electoral Officers. It also marked the conclusion of INEC’s nationwide zonal readiness assessment, following similar meetings across the South-West, North-West, South-East, North-East and South-South.

Before the meeting, Amupitan had visited the Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers on Thursday, seeking the support of traditional institutions for voter mobilisation, peaceful political participation and efforts to combat electoral misinformation.

With the 2027 elections scheduled across 176,846 polling units, INEC now faces the task of translating its new welfare, funding, technological and security measures into effective operations at state and local government levels.