The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will deploy a real-time readiness tracker to monitor preparations for the 2027 general elections across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Lagos while declaring open a two-day strategic operational workshop for administrative secretaries. ” He said the workshop would produce a standardised Excel-based Administrative Secretary Master Operational Tracker Template, which would be linked to the Commission’s Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC) dashboard and Election Project Plan (EPP).
According to him, INEC had historically lacked a uniform mechanism for monitoring the operational responsibilities of administrative secretaries, adding that the new tool would address the gap. He said the tracker, when deployed, would provide Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), supervising national commissioners, the secretary to the commission and the headquarters with real-time information on the distribution of election materials, training of ad-hoc staff and the level of preparedness in each state. The INEC chairman added that the tracker would serve beyond the 2027 elections, describing it as a permanent onboarding blueprint for future generations of administrative secretaries.
Amupitan said the initiative was part of the commission’s efforts to maintain a clean voters’ register and ensure seamless collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), as voter registration approaches 100 million. He identified Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) as one of five key operational areas being reviewed at the workshop, alongside logistics and materials management, electoral technology, optimisation of ad-hoc staff and financial compliance.
The chairman said the initiative was informed by lessons from recent off-cycle elections, including the Osun State governorship election, where, he said, disciplined logistics and functional technology contributed to a transparent electoral process. He said the commission was working to replicate the standard nationwide within the six-month period remaining before the 2027 general elections. Also speaking, the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Ayobami Salami, described the workshop as timely, given the commission’s preparations for the 2027 elections.
Salami commended the European Union, through the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN), implemented with Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), for supporting the workshop.