By Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan SAN, has declared that the era of ballot box snatching and manual manipulation of election results is gone, assuring Nigerians that current technological safeguards are robust enough to protect every vote cast in the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan made the declaration on Wednesday in Abuja when he received the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, on a courtesy visit to INEC headquarters.

Both institutions used the occasion to deepen collaboration on voter education ahead of the 2027 polls.

The INEC chairman, who recalled that the presidential election is held on January 16 and governorship polls on February 6, 2027, said the commission must begin intensive civic engagement immediately, warning that voter apathy and disinformation remain dangerous threats to the integrity of the electoral process.

He said, “We need to teach them why their vote matters and how our new legal and technological safeguards protect their choices. We must look the rural farmer, the marketplace woman, and the disillusioned urban youth in the eye and explain to them, in the language they understand, that because of the current technological infrastructure, the era of snatching ballot boxes or rewriting results manually is gone.”

While acknowledging significant operational achievements recorded during the February 21 Federal Capital Territory FCT Area Council elections and the June 20 off-cycle Governorship election in Ekiti State — including over 90 per cent early opening of polling units, biometric authentication via the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and swift result uploads to the INEC Result Viewing Portal IReV — the chairman said both polls exposed a troubling undercurrent of voter apathy and widespread confusion among urban voters over polling unit splits and registration transfers.

“This is a clear indicator that while our technology is moving forward, civic familiarity with the evolving system is lagging. It is a loud diagnostic signal that far more needs to be done in the area of intensive, deep-rooted voter education, and it proves that we cannot afford to wait until the eve of the 2027 polls to start talking to our people,” he said.

Amupitan stressed that INEC cannot build a robust democracy in isolation, noting that advanced technology alone means nothing without an informed electorate.

He said, “We can purchase the finest BVAS machines, we can optimise the IReV to international standards, and we can map out the most logistical routes for material deployment. But all of these technological and administrative triumphs mean nothing if the citizens remain detached, cynical, or completely uneducated about the power of their votes.”

Describing the NOA as Nigeria’s premier organisation for civic orientation and the visit as “a vital meeting of minds”, the INEC boss said the two institutions share a constitutional responsibility to educate Nigerians on democratic culture and must co-create a decentralised, grassroots voter education campaign that goes beyond telling people when to vote.

He called for joint campaigns against vote-buying and misinformation and urged that NOA field officers be equipped with accurate technical knowledge of INEC’s operations so they can serve as trusted community ambassadors ahead of the elections.

“Together, INEC and the NOA must rewrite this narrative. We need to co-create a decentralised, grassroots voter education campaign that goes beyond simply telling people when to vote,” Amupitan said, adding that the collaboration between both agencies is “not a secondary option; it is an absolute necessity.”

Welcoming the NOA DG’s leadership and his grasp of modern strategic communication, Amupitan said civic orientation in 2026 cannot rely on old, top-down bureaucratic methods, stressing that engagement must be digital, relational, and youth-focused.

He pledged the commission’s full institutional support for the partnership. “Our doors are wide open. We are ready to pool our resources, share our data, and give your teams all the institutional support required to make this collaboration a resounding success,” he said.

Earlier, Issa-Onilu stressed the necessity of collaborating with INEC, lamenting that the number of voters who come out on election days is dangerously low when compared to the number of registered voters.

“We are going into communities with our advocacy to the people.

“We both have in our hands civic education and voter education. We humbly seek support from INEC, which we are already having, but we believe it can be better. We need to increase the number of people who come out to vote. Those who come out to vote are very low compared to those on the register. We need to even let them know everything beyond the elections to ensure that Nigerians can keep track of cases in court,” he said.

By Omeiza Ajayi, ABUJA

The National Working Committee NWC of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC has dropped former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, former Ondo State House of Representatives member Gbenga Elegbeleye, and five other senatorial candidates from the party’s final lists of candidates forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Read Also: APC retains Akpabio, 4 Govs for Senate race

The development was contained in a correspondence signed by both the APC National Chairman and National Secretary, Nentawe Yilwatda and Ajibola Basiru respectively, and transmitted to the electoral commission, with the party’s national leadership attributing the sweeping changes to the report of the Primary Election Appeal Committee.

Nineteen House of Representatives candidates who had emerged victorious in the party’s primary elections held in May were equally dropped and replaced in the final lists. The states affected include Kogi, Abia, Benue, Taraba, Ondo, Niger, Kwara, Kaduna and Ebonyi.

Titled “Forwarding of approved list of senatorial and House of Representatives candidates,” the letter read: “We write to formally forward the attached list of the party’s candidates for the affected senatorial and House of Representatives constituencies arising from the report of the Primary Election Appeal Committee. Following the determination of appeals from the recently concluded primary elections, the reports of the Appeal Committee were reviewed and subsequently considered and approved by the NWC of the APC as the party’s final position on the affected constituencies. In accordance with the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) and INEC’s regulations and guidelines, we hereby transmit the enclosed list of the approved candidates for seven senatorial districts and 19 House of Representatives constituencies for your records and necessary action.”

Among the senatorial replacements, Senator Sunday Karimi displaced Aro Samuel Bamidele in Kogi West; Edinburgh Uchenna Erondu was replaced by Prince Paul Ikonne in Abia South; Suswam lost the Benue North East ticket to Emmanuel Memga Udende; while in Benue North West, Titus Tartenger Zam replaced Benjamin T. Aber.

Mohammed Kabir Bello was replaced by Shuibu Isa Lau in Taraba North; Taiwo Fasoranti was substituted by Adeniyi Adegbonmire in Ondo Central; and Elegbeleye lost the Ondo North ticket to Olajide Ipinsagba.

In the House of Representatives, Benue State recorded the most changes, with five federal constituencies affected. Dickson Tarkighir replaced Ikper Chris Terfa in Makurdi/Guma; Sesoo Ikpagher replaced Livinus Tsar Adzor in Vandeikya/Konshisha; Terser Ugbor substituted Kohol Shedrach Iornem in Kwande/Ushongo; Sekav Dzua Iyortyom replaced Gideon Inyom in Buruku; while Austin Asema Achado displaced Nongo David in Gwer East/Gwer West Federal Constituency.

In Taraba, Peter Abel Diah was forwarded to replace Sanusi Mohammed Galadima in Gashaka/Kurmi/Sardauna Federal Constituency. Niger State saw Abubakar Lado Abdullahi substitute Adamu Tanko in Suleja/Tafa/Gurara and Adamu Suleiman replacing Adamu Usman in Lavun/Edati/Mokwa.

In Kwara, Raheem Tunji Olawuyi replaced Olasumbo Florence Oyeyemi in Ekiti/Irepodun/Oke-Ero, while Mohammed Mamman substituted Bello Tauheed Abubakar in Edu/Patigi/Moro.

Ondo State recorded six House of Representatives changes, with Donald Ojogo replacing Akingboye Leke in Ilaje/Ese-Odo; Festus Olarewaju replacing Rasaq Obe in Idanre; Oluwatimehin Akintomide replacing Kayode Ijalana in Owo/Ose; Okunjinmi John Odimayo replacing Olumuyiwa Daramola in Okitipupa/Irele; Michel Olamidotun Akintomide substituting Abiola Makinde in Ondo West/Ondo East; and Festus Ayodele Adefiranye replacing Oyerinmade Matthew in Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo/Odigbo.

Rounding out the changes, Abdulazeez Kaka was named as replacement for Samaila Abdu Suleiman in Kaduna North; Samuel Okezie displaced Chris Nkwonta in Ukwa East/Ukwa West in Abia State; while Ekumankama Joseph Nkama replaced Iduma Igariwey Enwo in Afikpo North/Edda Federal Constituency in Ebonyi State.

Vanguard News

The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, in Delta State, and Deputy President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Age, have described the action of the Delta State House of Assembly, DSHA, to declare the seat of the member representing Udu State Constituency, Egbetamah Ovie Collins, vacant following his defection to the party as unconstitutional, unjust, politically motivated, and a threat to democratic principles.

In a statement signed by the Delta State Publicity Secretary of the NDC, McCollins Nwose, and made available to journalists, the party accused the Assembly of applying double standards, noting that politicians who previously defected from the PDP to the APC retained their seats without similar sanctions.

The NDC condemned the decision, saying it amounted to an abuse of legislative powers and an attempt to silence opposition voices in the state.

According to the party, the mandate held by Egbetamah belongs to the people of Udu State Constituency and not to any political party, maintaining that removing him from office over his defection undermines the will of the electorate and violates constitutional provisions.

The NDC called on civil society organisations, democracy advocates, and the people of Delta State to reject what it described as a dangerous precedent and to defend constitutional democracy.

The party reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the democratic rights and mandate of the people.

Similarly, Senator Ovie Omo-Age, condemned the Assembly over the removal of Egbetamah as representative of Udu State Constituency, describing the action as “hasty, arbitrary, oppressive, and illegal.”

In a statement he personally signed on Wednesday, the Obarisi of Urhoboland said the House’s decision was not constitutional but a political move.

“I condemn in the strongest terms the reported decision of the Delta State House of Assembly to remove Hon. Collins Egbetamah, the duly elected representative of Udu State Constituency, without a fair hearing.

“This was not constitutional housekeeping. It was a hasty, arbitrary, oppressive, and illegal act intended to achieve a political objective that disparages and injures the people of Udu, the wider Urhobo nation, and Delta state.”

Addressing the legal basis cited by the House, Omo-Agege argued that Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution does not apply without exception.

“The House relies on Section 109(1)(g) as if it admits of no exception. The Constitution provides an exception where a defection arises from a division in the original party.

“That question of fact was never examined in any legislative hearing. There was also no judicial determination. The matter was rushed because a process grounded in the constitutional right to a fair hearing would not have produced the House’s predetermined outcome,” he stated.

Senator Omo-Agege said a legislative mandate cannot be ended without hearing the lawmaker, warning that bypassing due process amounts to tyranny. “A mandate freely given by the people of Udu cannot be extinguished in a single sitting by voice vote. That is disturbing, disrespectful, and unacceptable. It was not the intendment of the framers of our constitution. We are not a Banana Republic,” Omo-Agege warned.