Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has acknowledged that many Nigerians have lost confidence in the country’s electoral system, describing the trust deficit as one of the greatest threats to Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2027 general election.

This was as the commission warned political parties against waiting until the 11th hour to upload the particulars of their candidates for the 2027 general elections, stressing that parties would bear responsibility for any delay in the nomination process.

Amupitan said restoring public confidence in elections would require sustained voter education and stronger collaboration between INEC and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to combat misinformation and encourage citizens to participate in the electoral process.

He spoke yesterday at the INEC headquarters in Abuja while receiving the Director-General of NOA, Lanre Issa-Onilu, during a courtesy visit.

According to the INEC chairman, although the commission has invested heavily in election technology and improved electoral administration, those efforts would achieve little if Nigerians remain skeptical of the process’s credibility.

“We must be honest with ourselves. We are battling a silent, dangerous enemy in our electoral ecosystem: voter apathy and deep-seated cynicism. We see it in the off-cycle polls where turnout does not match the energy of our national conversations.

“We also see a sophisticated, orchestrated wave of fake news and disinformation designed to make the ordinary Nigerian believe their vote will not count. Together, INEC and the NOA must rewrite this narrative,” he said.

Amupitan said technology alone could not guarantee credible elections without an informed electorate, stressing that public enlightenment was as important as investments in electoral infrastructure.

“You can acquire everything, but if you fail to remove ignorance, you have failed to maximise its value,” he said.

Earlier, NOA Director-General, Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the agency was ready to partner with INEC to deepen voter education, saying the 2023 elections exposed significant gaps in Nigerians’ understanding of the electoral process.

INEC disclosed that only nine registered political parties had so far collected the access codes required to complete and submit nomination forms through its online candidate nomination portal for the presidential and National Assembly elections.

The National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Mohammed Haruna, confirmed in Abuja yesterday that the parties had collected the codes by close of business on Monday.

According to him, the parties are Accord (A), Action Alliance (AA), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), National Democratic Congress (NDC), National Democratic Party (NDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Haruna clarified that it is the responsibility of political parties contesting the elections to approach INEC to obtain the access codes, rather than expecting the electoral body to deliver them to party secretariats.

He added that anyone seeking to collect the code on behalf of a political party must present an authorisation letter from the party’s leadership.

The INEC commissioner also urged political parties to comply strictly with the commission’s guidelines for candidate nomination, noting that party officials had already been trained on the nomination process.

He warned against postponing submissions until the final day, saying that although INEC had introduced measures to ease the process, the commission would not be held responsible for delays caused by political parties.

Under the commission’s timetable for the 2027 general elections, political parties are expected to submit nomination forms for presidential and National Assembly candidates between June 27 and July 11 through the designated online portal.

The timetable also provides that nomination forms for governorship and House of Assembly candidates will be submitted between July 18 and August 8.