Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan, has urged Nigerians not to stay away from the polls in the 2027 general elections. He assured citizens that their votes will count and promised that INEC is committed to delivering credible elections.
Amupitan spoke in Abuja at the unveiling of the 2026 INEC Voter Education Manual and a youth friendly civic and voter education manual, produced in partnership with Kimpact Development Initiative and supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. He said the strength of any democracy depends less on technology and more on the quality of citizens’ participation.
Represented by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, he warned that democracy suffers when many citizens are indifferent. He noted that recent elections have shown a worrying pattern of low turnout, with data from the 2023 general elections and subsequent off cycle polls revealing a participation gap that Nigeria cannot afford to ignore.
He explained that when people avoid voting, they effectively hand their power to a small minority. According to him, voter apathy often grows from misinformation, doubt and the belief that votes do not matter, but the new Electoral Act 2026 has further strengthened the protection of ballots through improved electronic transmission and stricter accountability rules.
Amupitan said laws alone are not enough to defeat apathy. He stressed that consistent civic and voter education, backed by strong public awareness campaigns, is the real antidote and that the new manuals are designed to simplify complex electoral provisions and make them easy for ordinary citizens to understand.
He described the idea that 70 percent of citizens stay at home while 30 percent decide the future for everyone as unacceptable. He said INEC wants to reverse this trend by giving Nigerians the information they need to resist vote buying and other attempts to undermine their rights.
The INEC chairman highlighted global research showing a clear link between structured civic education and higher voter turnout. He said people who understand how and why elections work are more likely to vote and to trust the process, especially when they know about the new safeguards in the Electoral Act 2026.
He commended Kimpact Development Initiative for helping to align the manuals with the new law. He explained that the materials break down legal and technical language into clear, engaging content, removing barriers that often discourage citizens, especially young people, from taking part in elections.
Amupitan also announced the launch of a Civic and Voter Education Community Development Service initiative with the National Youth Service Corps and the National Orientation Agency. He said NYSC members will be deployed as frontline educators across communities, using peer to peer storytelling, digital tools and local outreach to spread accurate information about elections.
He noted that young Nigerians now make up the majority of registered voters and consume most of their information through digital and visual platforms. INEC, he said, has adapted its voter education tools to meet youths where they are, moving from preaching at them to partnering with them as co drivers of democratic progress.
Amupitan declared that INEC is ready for the 2027 elections but needs the support of all stakeholders. He called on the media to use the manuals in their reporting and urged civil society groups to adopt them as a guide for advocacy and voter education across the country.
He said the goal is not just to prepare for an election but to prepare the people, insisting that an informed voter is the greatest guardian of the Republic. He described the launch as a decisive step to ensure that Nigerians are not just participants but informed stakeholders in the democratic journey.
In his remarks, Mohammed Haruna said many citizens now take the right to vote for granted without appreciating the long struggle it took to achieve universal suffrage in countries like the United Kingdom, the United States and Nigeria. He noted that Nigeria has recorded steadily declining turnout since 1999, dropping from over 60 percent in 2003 to under 30 percent in the 2023 general election.
He said this decline in participation motivated Kimpact Development Initiative to work with INEC on a comprehensive voter education manual that not only encourages people to vote but also teaches them how to exercise their rights properly.
Haruna explained that two documents have been produced. The first is the updated 2026 National Voter Education Manual, revised to reflect changes in electoral law and new technologies introduced by INEC. The second is a slimmer, youth friendly Civic and Voter Education Manual designed especially for use by NYSC members in their community service.
He said the aim is to train Corps members to spread the “gospel of democracy” in schools, markets, neighbourhoods and faith communities, helping to stimulate interest in voting from a young age.
Team Lead of Kimpact Development Initiative, Bukola Idowu, described the unveiling as a significant step in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy by building an informed and engaged citizenry. He said the updated manual responds to new legal frameworks, changing patterns of citizen engagement and the growing role of technology in elections.
Idowu emphasised that young people are central to the project, not just as voters but as educators, advocates and agents of change. He said the youth friendly manual will help close gaps in voter awareness, trust and participation, and that its impact will be measured by how widely it is used and how deeply it resonates with citizens across Nigeria.
He thanked INEC, the National Orientation Agency, NYSC and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for their collaboration and support. He urged all stakeholders to ensure the manuals become living tools that inform, inspire and empower Nigerians to take active and responsible roles in shaping their democracy.
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