The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, says the 20 June Ekiti governorship election will serve as the benchmark for how transparent the 2027 general elections will be.

He made the statement on Thursday at the Ekiti State Governorship Election Stakeholders Forum in Ado Ekiti. Amupitan insisted the commission has no favourite candidate or party. "We're in solitary alignment with the law and the sovereign will of the Nigerian people," he said.

A total of 1,059,360 registered voters are eligible to vote across 16 local government areas, 117 wards, and 2,445 polling units. That figure includes 66,664 new registrants added to the 2023 baseline of 987,647. INEC says it removed 2,103 double registrations using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).

Amupitan said the logistics plan is ready. INEC is finalising arrangements with the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to move personnel and materials on time. "Our goal is the simultaneous activation of all 2,445 polling units at exactly 8:30 a.m. on Election Day," he said.

He added that the commission has audited its past field operations, corrected deployment problems, and started early-morning distribution. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be the only tool for voter authentication. The rule is clear: no PVC, no accreditation, no voting. No exceptions. All polling-level results will be uploaded directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) for public transparency.

On vote buying, Amupitan said INEC is working closely with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). Deployed staff have orders to keep the area around each polling unit free from financial inducement. "We shall defend the ballot box from physical violence and fiscal contamination alike," he said.

The commission has also mapped out security risks with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). They identified specific threats — political thuggery, cultism, and attempted ballot disruption — in known trouble spots. Security forces have received precise orders to deal with anyone who tries to disrupt the process, regardless of their status.

Amupitan also promised to investigate complaints from opposition parties about intimidation, harassment, and voter inducement to collect PVCs.

Saturday's election is being watched closely because it's the first major test of INEC's readiness ahead of the 2027 general elections. A smooth, credible poll in Ekiti would boost confidence in the commission's ability to run a transparent national election. A flawed one would raise serious questions.