KADUNA — The Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for implementing digital reforms that have ended the controversial practice of midnight candidate substitution by political parties.
At a town hall meeting in Kaduna aimed at sensitising stakeholders on electoral innovations ahead of the 2027 general elections, PAACA’s Executive Director, Ezenwa Nwagwu, said the reforms have strengthened transparency and curbed manipulation within party primaries.
Nwagwu explained that the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP) now requires political parties to upload candidates’ details and supporting documents electronically within strict timelines, making last-minute name changes virtually impossible.
He noted that before these reforms, parties often swapped out genuine primary winners for preferred candidates at the last minute. The process was manual and chaotic, but with ICNP’s time-stamped submissions, accountability has been greatly improved.
He added that the 2022 Electoral Act reinforced these innovations, reducing intra-party disputes and post-election court cases.
Nwagwu also highlighted other electoral tools introduced by INEC, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), the Political Party Financial Auditing System, and INECPRES for recruiting ad-hoc staff. According to him, these tools have collectively enhanced electoral transparency, reduced voter apathy, and improved public trust in the electoral process.
The event drew participants from political parties, civil society organisations, persons with disabilities, security agencies, youth groups, and religious leaders, who all reviewed past challenges and strategised on ensuring peaceful and credible polls in 2027.
Kaduna State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Danjuma Makama, urged stakeholders to embrace the reforms and play active roles in strengthening democratic practices. He emphasised the importance of voter education in shaping electoral outcomes.
Head of the Election Monitoring Unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ndan Kure, called for stronger collaboration between INEC, security agencies, and citizens to combat voter suppression and election-related violence. He disclosed that INEC offices were attacked in 15 states between 2019 and 2022.
Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) in Kaduna, Mikailu Abubakar, described continued electoral reform as essential to rebuilding public confidence in the system.
Recommendations from the town hall included transparency in INEC appointments, legal safeguards for technologies like BVAS and IReV, early accreditation of party agents, greater inclusion of women and persons with disabilities in candidate selection, and the establishment of real-time election monitoring centres.
Participants agreed that sustained civic engagement and electoral transparency are critical to deepening Nigeria’s democracy and achieving credible elections in 2027.
