The Federal Government has flagged off a nationwide grassroots mobilisation campaign ahead of the 2027 general election, with a call on Nigerians to reject voter apathy, vote buying and electoral violence.
The campaign, organised by the National Orientation Agency, NOA, has the theme, “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Future: Say No to Apathy, Vote Buying and Violence. Let’s Build a United Nigeria in 2027.” It is aimed at taking voter education to communities across the country.
At the flag-off were the Minister of Information and National Orientation, the Chairman of INEC, the Director-General of NOA, heads of security agencies, representatives of political parties and civil society groups.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, says the initiative is timely and speaks to the shared responsibility of protecting Nigeria’s democracy.
He said President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Act 2026 on February 18, 2026, introducing key reforms such as mandatory electronic transmission of polling unit results to the IReV portal, compulsory use of BVAS for accreditation, stiffer sanctions against electoral malpractice and improved funding for INEC.
He gave assurances that the government would fund INEC adequately, saying a credible election is cheaper than managing violence arising from a flawed process.
For his part, INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, explained the complexity of managing Nigeria’s voter population, noting that the register now stands at over 103 million voters following a clean-up using the Automated Biometric Identification System to remove multiple registrations and duplicate entries.
He said over 10 million new voters had been added since 2023, with registration conducted in three phases and now linked to the National Identification Number, NIN, to allow seamless registration from anywhere in the world.
He also cited Section 18 of the new Electoral Act, which allows voters who have lost their PVCs to apply for replacements 90 days before the election.
The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, says the campaign is strictly non-partisan and will be driven by NOA directorates in the states and the FCT, alongside Community Orientation and Mobilisation Officers in the 774 local government areas.
All three leaders stressed that laws and technology alone cannot guarantee credible polls without responsible conduct by political parties, candidates, citizens and the media.
They warned against fake news and disinformation, which fuel apathy and violence, and announced that Nigeria had secured UNESCO’s approval to host the first Media and Information Literacy Institute in Abuja to help citizens verify information before sharing it.
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Editor: Ada Ononye
