Amupitan Discloses New Technology
OpenLife News reports that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Joash Amupitan SAN, has disclosed a new technology and strategy that would make rigging impossible at polling units in the 2027 general election.
Amupitan, who spoke at a strategic workshop for editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, in collaboration with INEC in Abuja on Monday, said the Commission has introduced an enhanced electronic result management system that will block manipulation of results at source.
According to him, the Commission has acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, devices for optimal performance in 2027.
He explained that the enhanced eEC8A system is the game-changer that will make rigging impossible.“The enhanced eEC8A system digitised polling unit result sheets, authenticated them cryptographically and uploaded them directly from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV,” he disclosed.
Amupitan said with the new technology, Form eEC8A would halt manipulation of votes at the polling unit level before the figures are entered into the BVAS and transferred to IReV.
He said once results are authenticated cryptographically at the polling unit and uploaded directly to IReV, no one can alter the figures at collation centres, thereby making rigging at polling units impossible again.
The INEC Chairman also used the platform to warn politicians that their ambitions are not worth the blood of Nigerians, vowing arrests, sanctions and prosecution against parties, candidates and agents who resort to violence, hate speech and vote-buying.“As electioneering intensifies across the country, I must sound a clear note of warning to all political parties, candidates, and campaign managers
“INEC will not stand by and allow political competition to devolve into violence, intimidation, or inflammatory rhetoric.
“Democracy thrives on the clash of ideas, not the clash of weapons or the proliferation of hate speech,” he stated.
Amupitan said through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, the Commission has activated an early-warning tracking framework to log incidents of political violence, thuggery and dangerous campaign rhetoric.
“Any political party or candidate implicated in inciting violence, disrupting rivals’ rallies or deploying armed thugs will face direct statutory sanctions and swift prosecution. No political office in this country is worth the blood of a single Nigerian,” he warned.
Departing from his prepared speech, the chairman said he had just been shown evidence of the kind of conduct he was warning against.
“Just before I was invited to come and speak, somebody shared with me… a person, an NDC candidate in Kano State who was campaigning yesterday with a gun in his hands, brandishing the gun, and so on and so forth.
“Another person was threatening that with AK-47s, they will kill all of us in the commission. So, that is what elections have turned into in Nigeria of today,” Amupitan lamented.
On vote-buying, he announced a crackdown on money politics, saying the Commission is taking an uncompromising stance and is working with the Federal Ministry of Justice, the EFCC, ICPC and the NFIU.
On voter registration, Amupitan said Phase I of the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, from August 25, 2025 to December 10, 2025 registered 2,611,266 voters, Phase II from January 5 to April 17, 2026 registered 4,121,835, while Phase III from May 11 to July 26, 2026 registered 3,867,997, bringing total new registrants to over 10.6 million.
He added that INEC has completed physical readiness audits in the South-West and North-West zones and may secure bulletproof vests and vehicles for staff in flashpoints like Zamfara and Sokoto, while recently introducing the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure, CEMBSS, with a 150% increase in state office operational overheads effective July 1, 2026.
In his remarks, NGE President, Mr Eze Anaba, said elections are about trust and citizens believing their votes will count, stressing that in an environment polluted by misinformation and deepfakes, INEC and the media must sustain openness and regular engagement.
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