INEC Chairman Warns Anyone Who Threatens Election Staff Will Face Justice

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has warned that anyone who harms or intimidates election workers will face the law. He delivered the message on Saturday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The occasion was the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment ahead of the 2027 general election.

Amupitan directed his warning at anyone who targets the Commission’s ad-hoc staff, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members or permanent personnel. “Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger,” he said. Moreover, he promised that offenders “will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law.”

The chairman also explained how INEC plans to protect its people. The Commission has abandoned reactive, election-day deployments. Instead, it now uses an early, intelligence-led arrangement that it calls the “ICCES Tentacle.” This framework extends security coordination from national and state headquarters down to the most remote Local Government Areas and Registration Area Centres. Amupitan named three pillars: mapping and mitigating threats, ensuring safety, and guaranteeing access to polling units.

The South-South arrangement relies on about 60 major operational formations. They operate under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, and they bring together military, naval, air, police and intelligence agencies across the six states.

The stakes in the zone are high. The South-South holds the fourth largest voting bloc in the country, with 15,823,550 registered voters. That figure represents 15.30 per cent of the national register. Rivers State alone has 3,736,434 registered voters across 23 Local Government Areas.

Amupitan also updated Nigerians on preparations. INEC has completed nine of the 14 major statutory milestones in its timetable. The 2027 elections will involve over 103 million registered voters and 176,846 polling units. The Presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Assembly elections follow on February 6, 2027. In addition, the Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime Transporters Union to move personnel and materials to riverine and coastal communities.

Staff welfare featured prominently as well. INEC has removed its workforce from the civil service salary structure, effective January 1, 2026, and it has approved a 150 per cent increase in monthly state overhead allocations. “To our field staff: you are the true face of INEC,” Amupitan told participants. However, he also warned that partisan leaning, negligence, financial impropriety or absenteeism will meet “swift, decisive sanctions.”

The day before, Amupitan visited the King and Paramount Ruler of Port Harcourt, Eze Epara Rebisi XII, Barr. Uchechukwu Isaiah Elikwu. There, he promised an end to the late arrival of election materials that marred earlier polls. That era, he said, “must come to an end.” He also announced that the Commission has lowered the threshold for deploying additional BVAS machines from 1,250 to 850 voters per polling unit.

The chairman then asked the monarch to help mobilise residents to collect their Permanent Voter Cards and to vote. Likewise, he urged royal fathers to warn citizens about misinformation, especially on social media and through artificial intelligence. He noted that INEC has already engaged traditional rulers in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East. The Eze responded with a pledge. “Do the right thing, and we assure you of our support,” he said.

Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem welcomed participants and framed the meeting as a chance to find operational gaps before Election Day. Similarly, Director of Planning and Monitoring Mrs. Helen Ajayi said state offices would report on election security, staff training, voter education and stakeholder engagement.