The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has systematically integrated National Identification Numbers (NIN) to audit, verify, and clean the national voter register and improve its integrity ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The acting chairman of INEC, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, disclosed this on Tuesday, while receiving members of the African Union (AU) pre-election needs assessment mission at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

Ms Gumus, a national commissioner, said INEC was preparing to accredit and facilitate voting for a voter population rapidly approaching the 100 million mark, deployed across 176,846 polling units.

“Through our strategic collaboration with the NIMC and the implementation of our continuous voter registration portal, we have systematically integrated NIN to audit, verify, and clean our national voter register.

“This is to ensure that Africa’s largest democratic identity roll enters the 2027 polls with unassailable integrity,” she said.

Ms Gumus reaffirmed INEC’s strict commitment to neutrality, independence, and professionalism, under Prof. Joash Amupitan, who is presently on an international assignment.

“Under our watch, every administrative decision will strictly follow the law, every technical deployment will serve transparency, and the outcome of the 2027 general election will reflect nothing but the sovereign will of the Nigerian electorate,” she said.

On INEC operational readiness, Ms Gumus said the commission had treated all recent off-cycle elections, including Anambra, FCT, Ekiti, and Osun, as a crucial proving ground for reform under the new legal framework provided by the Electoral Act 2026.

She said that in Osun, INEC recorded over 94 per cent early-morning logistical opening rates, optimal performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), seamless result viewing on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, and disciplined security management.

Ms Gumus, however, acknowledged the complex technological, logistical, and political challenges inherent in managing elections across a vast country.

The acting chairman, while describing electoral integrity as a multi-stakeholder endeavour, added that international technical support remained vital to bridging operational gaps in line with the AU assessment mission.

Ms Gumus outlined specific areas where technical and institutional support from the AU would be valuable, including digital training for ad hoc election personnel.

Other areas are countering election-related disinformation and deepfakes, strengthening the election monitoring and support centre, and deepening inclusivity and gender-mainstreaming frameworks.

She described the mission’s visit to Nigeria as a pivotal event in the country’s democratic journey, underscoring its shared commitment to consolidating constitutionalism, institutional integrity, and credible electoral governance across the continent.

Earlier, Demeke Mekonnen, leader of the AU delegation and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, said the visit aimed to engage key stakeholders and gauge overall election preparedness.

Mr Mekonnen noted that the mission would examine critical areas, including voter register readiness, technology applications such as BVAS and IReV, logistics, timely funding release, gender and youth inclusion, and security coordination,

Other areas are dispute resolution mechanisms to help ensure a credible, transparent, and fair electoral process.

He emphasised the need for a credible and transparent process, a fair landscape for all players, and inclusivity, which he described as the acceptable standards for elections.

“We are here to also find out if INEC technology applications were fully tested and ready, lessons learnt from the previous elections, logistical and operational challenges and how the commission was addressing them.

“To find out if INEC had received adequate and timely funding through parliament for the entire election process, which is very important to ensure credibility, fairness and transparency; availability of necessary resources is very crucial, on time,” he added.

(NAN)