The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday, lamented that recurring leadership tussles and protracted intra-party disputes are diverting its attention from core election planning and contributing to voter apathy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, raised the concern at the opening of a three-day Technical Review Workshop in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, where the Commission began a comprehensive review of its Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties in line with the Electoral Act 2026.
According to an INEC bulletin obtained by Vanguard in Abuja, the workshop, supported by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, is aimed at strengthening the electoral framework and ensuring compliance with the new law as preparations intensify for 2027.
Amupitan warned, “The quality of internal party democracy has a direct bearing on the election conducted by INEC. Each day spent defending avoidable intra-party disputes is a day diverted from our primary mandate of election planning.
“While the Commission remains neutral, it will enforce compliance firmly and consistently.”
The INEC chairman said the revised regulations would introduce stricter benchmarks for financial transparency, membership documentation and the inclusion of women, youths and Persons with Disabilities.
“We are not just editing a document. We are aligning our Regulations and Guidelines with the 2026 Act to ensure that our electoral architecture is not only robust in theory but strong in practice.
“The sovereign will of the Nigerian people must remain sacrosanct from the point of candidate nomination to the final declaration of results.”
He disclosed that under the revised timetable, presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, while governorship and state assembly elections are slated for February 6, 2027. Party primaries are expected between April 23 and May 30, 2026.
National Commissioner and Chairman of the Election and Party Monitoring Committee, Dr. Baba Bila, described the review as a strategic necessity, noting that existing guidelines require substantive amen-dments to give effect to the new Electoral Act.
Country Director of WFD Nigeria, Mr. Adebowale Olorunmola, urged political parties to evolve into inclusive and internally democratic institutions to safeguard the integrity of the 2027 polls.
INEC’s position, however, drew sharp reactions from political leaders and parties, who accused the Commission of shifting blame instead of rebuilding public trust in the electoral process.
The National Working Committee of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, said while internal party crises pose administrative challenges, they are secondary to what it described as a deeper crisis of public confidence in the electoral system.
NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Bamofin Ladipo Johnson, told Vanguard that although INEC is often joined in pre-election suits and may feel the burden of litigation, the Commission must confront the trust deficit that, according to him, fuels voter apathy.
“It is understandable that INEC complains about the disturbances caused by internal party disputes,” Johnson said. “Because the Commission is often joined as a necessary party in these suits, it inevitably drains their time and resources.”
He, however, added: “The greatest cause of voter apathy in Nigeria is not internal party friction; it is the widespread perception that INEC is complicit in subverting the will of the people.
“A large percentage of the voting public remains convinced that the system is rigged and that their ballots do not count. This crisis of confidence is the primary driver of voter apathy. Until INEC demonstrates absolute transparency and proves it is an unbiased arbiter, no amount of internal party stability will bring Nigerians back to the polling units.”
