By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has charged the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to intensify grassroots mobilization against voter apathy, vote buying and electoral violence ahead of the 2027 general election.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, gave the charge on Thursday in Abuja at the flag-off of the NOA’s nationwide grassroots mobilization campaign, urging officials to take the message to palaces, markets, places of worship, campuses and village squares across the country.
Amupitan described the three challenges as major threats to democratic participation and electoral credibility, warning that voter apathy weakens the legitimacy of democratic governance by allowing a minority to determine electoral outcomes.
He urged eligible voters to verify their registration status, collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), remain informed and participate peacefully in the election.
The INEC chairman assured Nigerians that every valid vote would be accurately counted and reflected in the final results, citing the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) as mechanisms supporting the electoral process.
On vote buying, Amupitan said the practice undermined the freedom and integrity of voters, disclosing that the commission had reconfigured polling unit layouts to strengthen ballot secrecy.
He added that INEC, through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, was collaborating with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and security agencies to monitor financial activities around polling units and tackle vote buying.
Amupitan also condemned electoral violence, hate speech and the use of artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes to incite ethnic and religious conflict. He urged political parties and candidates to campaign on issues and resolve disputes through lawful channels.
He disclosed that the National Register of Voters now stood at more than 103 million, with 176,846 polling units nationwide, while nine of the 14 key statutory activities on the commission’s timetable had been completed.
In his keynote address, NOA Director-General, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the campaign was designed to promote informed participation and protect citizens from electoral manipulation and violence.
Issa-Onilu said the agency would deploy its state directorates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, alongside Community Orientation and Mobilization Officers in all 774 local government areas.
He explained that the campaign would be non-partisan and use community dialogues, local-language communication, radio discussions, drama, audio messages and digital platforms to reach citizens.
The NOA director-general also called for continued technical collaboration with INEC, access to verified voter education information and coordination across national, state and local structures.
The campaign, held under the theme, “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Future: Say No to Apathy, Vote Buying and Violence. Let’s Build a United Nigeria in 2027,” attracted electoral officials, security agencies, political parties, civil society groups, traditional and religious leaders, and representatives of youth, women and persons with disabilities.
