100 Days to 2027: INEC Must Answer Nigerians Before Asking for Their Trust
… New Promises Cannot Erase Old Questions
By Kenneth Eze, Election Observer
Abuja—As Nigeria enters the final 100-day countdown to the 2027 General Elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented Nigerians with its preparations, plans, and assurances for another electoral cycle. But there is one fundamental issue the Commission cannot simply plan away: trust.
The INEC Chairman’s briefing was an important opportunity to tell Nigerians not only what the Commission intends to do in 2027 but also what it has done to confront the unresolved credibility questions arising from 2023. Unfortunately, that accountability conversation appeared largely absent.
INEC itself has acknowledged that the 2023 presidential-election result-upload process experienced a technical failure. Its own review states that presidential polling-unit results began failing to upload to IReV because of internal server errors and a configuration problem. That explanation may describe the technical problem, but Nigerians are entitled to ask the next question: what exactly went wrong, who was responsible, what controls failed, and what independently verifiable safeguards have been introduced to ensure it cannot happen again?
IReV was created to give citizens near-real-time access to polling-unit result sheets. INEC itself describes the platform as allowing citizens to view polling-unit results and verify outcomes. Therefore, where citizens, observers, political parties, or researchers identify apparent inconsistencies between uploaded polling-unit result sheets and subsequently declared figures, INEC should not respond with assurances alone. It should provide transparent explanations, auditable records, and accessible evidence.
There are also unresolved public concerns about the security of INEC’s server systems, including reports of unauthorised access to sensitive candidate information and allegations involving political actors and INEC personnel—the aide to the FCT minister case. Such allegations must not be treated as facts without investigation. But neither should they be dismissed. Nigerians deserve to know whether INEC’s databases are secure, who has access, what audit trails exist, and whether any official or political actor has ever gained unauthorised access to protected electoral information.
The same principle applies to allegations concerning uploads from devices other than BVAS. Such allegations should neither be dismissed casually nor converted into conclusions of fraud without evidence. If the electoral system permitted authorised credentials to upload result forms from devices other than the prescribed BVAS equipment, INEC should explain the technical architecture, the circumstances under which this could happen, the safeguards against abuse, and the audit logs available to identify every upload. The public deserves certainty about what the system permits, what it prohibits, and what actually happened.
The same principle applies to allegations of inducements or improper relationships: that senior INEC officials received land or cash-related benefits from a serving government minister. The appropriate response is not silence but transparent investigation and disclosure of findings. Such allegation should not be ignored. INEC should disclose the facts, the applicable rules on gifts and conflicts of interest, whether any such benefits were received, their value and circumstances, and whether an independent investigation has taken place.
INEC’s own current leadership has acknowledged that the greatest threat may lie not only at the polling unit but in the collation and management of results and has announced additional safeguards for 2027. This is welcome. But safeguards will only rebuild confidence if Nigerians can independently understand, scrutinize, and verify them.
The 2027 election cannot therefore be built solely on a new timetable, new technology, and new promises. It must be built on accountability for 2023, transparency today, and verifiable safeguards for tomorrow.
INEC is constitutionally entrusted with managing Nigeria’s elections. That mandate gives it authority, but authority does not automatically produce public confidence.
Trust must be earned. It cannot be overridden by another press conference.
At 100 days to 2027, Nigerians are not asking INEC merely to promise a better election. They are asking a more fundamental question: What has INEC done to convince Nigerians that the unresolved failures and controversies of 2023 will not become the crisis of 2027?
The 2027 election must not begin with Nigerians being told simply to trust INEC. Trust is not created by a press conference, a new technology, or a new timetable. Trust is earned when institutions acknowledge failure, disclose evidence, correct weaknesses, and demonstrate that the rules apply equally to everyone.
Nigeria does not need an electoral commission that is merely confident in itself. It needs an electoral commission that is capable of making citizens confident in the system.
Until that question receives a clear, evidence-based, and independently verifiable answer, INEC’s preparations may be impressive on paper, but the credibility of the election will remain under a cloud of doubt.
