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2027: Amupitan Assures Candidates, Parties of Level Playing Ground
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Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has assured political parties and Nigerians that the commission will not favour any candidate in the 2027 general elections.
Prof. Joash Amupitan gave the assurance on Tuesday at the formal signing of the First National Peace Accord to commit candidates and political parties to issue-based campaigns for the 2027 general election.
The event was organised by the National Peace Committee in partnership with The Kukah Centre.
Amupitan said INEC has no interest in determining who wins or loses the election, stressing that its responsibility was to provide a transparent, credible and level playing field for all contestants.
“Let me state unequivocally that INEC has no interest in who wins or loses any election. The Commission does not have a candidate, nor does it favour any political platform.
“Our only interest is a lawful, transparent, credible, and inclusive process. We will act as an uncompromising, impartial umpire, ensuring a level playing field for all contestants,” Amupitan said.
He pledged that the commission would remain an “uncompromising, impartial umpire,” committed to ensuring a lawful, transparent, credible and inclusive electoral process.
The INEC chairman also urged political parties and candidates to ensure that the 2027 campaigns focused on issues affecting Nigerians rather than personal attacks, character assassination and inflammatory rhetoric.
He said the signing of the Peace Accord was particularly significant as campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled to commence on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
Amupitan said the timing of the accord provided an opportunity for political actors to establish the ethical boundaries of the electoral contest before campaigns officially begin.
He described electoral contests in a constitutional democracy as “competitive job interviews before the electorate,” stressing that Nigerians deserved substantive debates on the country’s challenges.
He urged candidates to present clear and measurable programmes on economic growth, national security, infrastructure, healthcare, education and social inclusion.
Amupitan also warned political parties against the spread of misinformation and disinformation, particularly through their digital media teams, spokespersons and online supporters.
He said unverified and premature declarations of election results could trigger panic and undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
The INEC chairman warned against incitement, identity-based provocation and the deployment of private armed groups, saying such actions could compromise the electoral process even before Election Day.
He said the commission’s preparations for the 2027 elections were progressing, noting that INEC was scaling up its logistics to manage about 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide.
According to him, the commission had spent the past eight months refining its technology, improving logistics and training personnel, with lessons from recent elections in Anambra, the FCT, Ekiti and Osun states contributing to its preparations.
Amupitan stressed that INEC could not deliver a credible election alone.
“As I have often said, INEC cannot deliver a perfect election alone. An election is a multi-stakeholder venture. We provide the pitch and the refereeing, but the quality of the game depends on the players,” he said.
Amupitan also disclosed that the commission was introducing further transparency measures in the result-management process to improve the credibility of the 2027 elections.
He called on political actors to compete vigorously but peacefully, warning that no candidate or party would truly win if Nigeria emerged weakened from the electoral process.
“Peace is not the absence of competition; it is the presence of rules and the willingness to abide by them. Let us compete vigorously, but let us compete decently. Let us remember that at the end of this exercise, there will be no winners if Nigeria is the loser,” he said.
The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa, has accused a former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, of deliberately planning the killing of people in Southern Kaduna.
Musa made the allegation while fielding questions on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.
The minister said El-Rufai’s administration created deep divisions in Kaduna State, alleging that the situation made it difficult for residents from Southern Kaduna to live freely in the northern part of the State and vice versa.
According to him, the administration of the current governor, Uba Sani, has made deliberate efforts to restore unity and rebuild trust among residents of the State.
“We know how it was when El-Rufai was there; it was toxic,” Musa said.
“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the country, the State, into two. In that, if you are from the South, you cannot go to the North and live. Those ones from the North were moving to the South.
“Governor Sani within one year has been able to dissolve all that. You see, now everybody is free, everybody has a say. It’s not 100%. Let me tell you, it’s not 100%, but you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state.”
Speaking on the feelings of people in Southern Kaduna towards the former governor, Musa said the people remained deeply pained over killings recorded in the area during El-Rufai’s tenure.
He alleged that El-Rufai deliberately planned the killing of people in the region.
“Well, I don’t know if unhappy is an issue. I think if there’s anything worse than unhappy, we can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” Musa said.
“I mean, when you look at it, if you look at his videos, you know, his speeches, he was very proud of what he did.
“He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this, he did that. He didn’t hide it. He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did.”
The Defence Minister said residents of Southern Kaduna were still traumatised by the killings that occurred during the period, adding that the security situation in the area had improved under the current administration.
“The Southern Kaduna people are still very pained. Of course, definitely. I mean, if you look at the number of killings that was done there and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all,” he said.
Musa further accused El-Rufai of denying some people opportunities during his administration and alleged that the former governor’s policies affected even people from his own part of the state.
“I can tell you what he has done to people living in Kaduna from his own area. He did a lot of things that I’m sure even him is not proud of,” he added.
The minister, however, called on Nigerians to reject politicians who exploit religion, ethnicity and other differences to divide the country.
“We should get politicians that want to unite Nigeria. For me, any individual who is using either religion, tribe, creed, or anything to divide the state can never be a friend; can never be somebody we look up to,” Musa said.
“We shouldn’t have those kind of ones in government. Anybody who is using religion or tribe or whatever to divide Nigeria is an enemy of the State.”
President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja, the nation’s capital on Sunday for Europe to begin a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a release disclosed that Tinubu’s first stop will be London, United Kingdom.
The President is expected to return home after the working vacation to join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 election.
Vice President Kashim Shettima had earlier this month went on two-week leave, his first since the Tinubu government assumed office over three years ago. He has since returned.
President Bola Tinubu has raised concerns with the African Union (AU) over repeated xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans and other foreign nationals in South Africa.
Tinubu urged African leaders to take collective action and include the issue on the agenda of the AU’s 40th Ordinary Session, scheduled for January 2027.
The president’s position was presented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the 21st Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly in Luanda, Angola.
Tinubu called on African leaders to renew their commitment to protecting the safety, dignity and rights of all Africans across the continent.
He said: “Nigeria wishes to express its concern over the recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans and other nationals in South Africa.
“While recognising South Africa’s sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws and acknowledging its contributions to the continent, Nigeria stresses that such attacks undermine African solidarity, unity and peaceful coexistence, and require urgent collective attention.”
He added: “It is on this note that Nigeria calls on this august Assembly to place the matter on the agenda of the upcoming 40th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, scheduled for January 2027, for consideration and appropriate action.”
The president also urged the AU to strengthen efforts to tackle xenophobia and Afrophobia across the continent.
He stressed that “dialogue, preventive diplomacy, and collective action remained essential to preserving African unity.”
On Africa’s broader security challenges, Nigeria supported the adoption of the Luanda Action Plan as a way to improve conflict prevention.
Tinubu argued that preventing conflicts would be more sustainable and less expensive than dealing with them after they have started.
“For Nigeria, conflict prevention remains more cost-effective and sustainable than conflict management,” President Tinubu said.
He also warned that separate and uncoordinated peace efforts, as well as growing foreign involvement through military forces, mercenaries and private defence companies, could weaken Africa’s ability to manage its own conflicts.
Tinubu further called on countries that manufacture and export weapons to work more closely with African governments to prevent weapons and ammunition from being diverted to terrorists and other armed groups.
The president said the AU already has strong systems for preventing and resolving conflicts, but limited trust and poor implementation have continued to reduce their effectiveness.
