INEC sets 28 November for a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise ahead of the 2027 elections
Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission will hold a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise on Saturday 28 November 2026 to simulate the presidential election and test its upgraded technology, Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan announced at Chatham House in London on Thursday. He said a new safeguard will stop an inaccurate polling-unit result from reaching the IReV portal at all, and that the voters-per-BVAS limit has been cut from 1,250 to 850. The presidential and National Assembly elections are on 16 January 2027.
Key points
- Mock accreditation and voting in all states on Saturday 28 November 2026, simulating the presidential election.
- A new safeguard: an inaccurate polling-unit result 'will not go to IReV at all', the chairman said.
- Voters per BVAS device cut from 1,250 to 850; presidential and National Assembly elections follow on 16 January 2027.
What happened
The 2023 general elections left what the chairman himself called a significant trust deficit for INEC, centred on result management and the IReV portal. The mock exercise, and the safeguards he described in London, are the commission's public test of whether accreditation and transmission now work before the real polls in January.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That the mock exercise will be held nationwide on 28 November, and what it is meant to test.
- That the presidential and National Assembly elections are on 16 January 2027.
What we don't know yet
- Which polling units will be used for the mock exercise, and how voters can take part — INEC has not published those details in the reporting read.
- How the new IReV safeguard performed in internal testing — the 28 November exercise is its public test.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (3)
Why this label: The date, the nationwide scope and the purpose are the INEC chairman's own announcement, reported in the same terms by BusinessDay and Punch.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The safeguard and the BVAS changes are the chairman's own description of the commission's preparations; how they perform will be tested on 28 November and on election day.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The election dates and the funding position are as the chairman stated them at the dialogue.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
For Nigerian voters, 28 November is the first nationwide rehearsal of the system that will accredit them and transmit their results in January. What goes right — and what fails in public — will shape confidence in the 2027 elections more than any assurance.
Background
The general elections leave a trust deficit for INEC, centred on result management and IReV.
Nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise, simulating the presidential election.
Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published. Basis: INEC Chairman Amupitan's own announcement at Chatham House, as reported by BusinessDay and Punch.