The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has commenced the configuration of its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission also disclosed that Nigerian Air Force jets had begun transporting non-sensitive election materials to states as preparations for the polls gathered momentum.
The Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Haruna Mohammed, confirmed the developments to Sunday PUNCH, explaining that the early configuration of BVAS machines was necessary because of the time required to complete the process.
“The BVAS are already being configured. It takes a while to configure them, so we have to start early,” Mohammed said.
He added that the distribution of non-sensitive election materials was already underway, with the Nigerian Air Force assisting in transporting the materials across the country.
“The distribution of the non-sensitive materials for the 2027 election is already on. As we speak, Air Force jets are currently deploying materials to states,” he said.
According to INEC’s timetable, the presidential and National Assembly elections will be held on January 16, 2027, while the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
Campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections are expected to end on January 14, while those for the governorship and state Assembly elections will end on February 4.
The latest developments followed an earlier announcement by the commission that it had begun moving non-sensitive election materials to parts of the country after assessing its preparedness across the six geopolitical zones.
An INEC National Commissioner, Prof Rhoda Gumus, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during a meeting with a delegation from Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, led by the country’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina.
Gumus said the commission had completed nine scheduled activities and was intensifying preparations after assessing its readiness across the six geopolitical zones.
She explained that the assessment was aimed at identifying logistical challenges and areas requiring urgent attention before the elections.
“We have six zones in Nigeria. The purpose is to go around the zones to see how prepared we are, assess what the zones have put in place, the challenges and what to do,” she said.
Expressing satisfaction with the progress recorded, Gumus disclosed that the movement of non-sensitive materials had already commenced.
“Right now, all non-sensitive materials are almost ready. In fact, today, as we speak here, the non-sensitive materials have been lifted to some zones now. I spoke to the commissioner in charge of that,” she added.
The configuration of BVAS machines and distribution of election materials are among the commission’s preparations for the 2027 polls.
Credit: punchng.com
