2027 Elections: INEC, EFCC, ICPC, NFIU Team Up To Track Campaign Funds

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has joined forces with major anti-corruption and financial intelligence agencies to track illegal campaign spending and prevent vote buying ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at a strategic workshop for media executives organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in collaboration with the commission.

Amupitan said the commission was working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to monitor campaign financing and identify suspicious transactions.

He said the joint monitoring mechanism would also strengthen surveillance around polling units to detect attempts to influence voters through financial inducement.

The INEC chairman warned political parties, candidates and campaign managers that violations of the Electoral Act would attract arrest and prosecution.

He stressed that the outcome of elections should be determined by the conviction of voters and not the financial capacity of candidates.

Amupitan also announced that the National Register of Voters had surpassed 103 million following the completion of the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

He said the exercise produced 10,772,421 new registrants, comprising 2,611,266 in the first phase, 4,121,835 in the second and 3,867,997 in the third phase, subject to final verification.

According to him, INEC had completed the final Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup, while the preliminary register had been displayed for claims and objections.

The commission also acquired 57,000 additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines as part of efforts to strengthen its technological capacity for the 2027 elections.

Amupitan said INEC was targeting simultaneous voting across polling units nationwide, adding that the commission was incorporating lessons from recent off-cycle elections into its preparations.

On election security, he said the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) had activated an early-warning framework to monitor political violence, thuggery and dangerous campaign rhetoric.

He warned political parties and candidates against violence, intimidation and hate speech, saying those found responsible for inciting violence or disrupting opponents’ rallies would face sanctions.

Earlier, NGE President, Eze Anaba, called for a transparent and credible electoral process in which Nigerians would have confidence that their votes would count.

He said elections should go beyond the casting of ballots to ensuring that electoral institutions operate fairly and professionally.

The Executive Director of the International Press Centre, Lanre Arogundade, also stressed the need for timely and transparent communication from INEC.

Amupitan urged media executives to help strengthen public confidence in the electoral process by prioritising verified information, accurate reporting and responsible coverage ahead of the 2027 polls.