Why election results change in transit – Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Sam Egwu

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As Nigeria inches closer to the 2027 general elections, the credibility of the electoral process is once again under scrutiny. Questions about funding timelines, the reliability of electoral technology, political party dysfunction, and the integrity of the collation process are increasing­ly dominating national conversations.

In this wide-ranging interview, Prof. Sam Egwu, Resident Elec­toral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) current­ly serving in Benue State, offers rare insight into the internal workings of Nigeria’s electoral body.

A veteran political scientist who began his academic career as an Assistant Lecturer in 1986 and later joined election administration, the commissioner reflects on nearly four decades of observing Nigeria’s democratic evolution.

He speaks candidly about INEC’s prepared­ness for 2027, the limitations imposed by the new funding timeline under the Electoral Act, the role of technology in improving elections, and the persistent problem of result manipulation during collation.

He also delivers a blunt critique of Nigeria’s political culture, arguing that many members of the political elite lack the democratic tem­perament required to strengthen the country’s electoral system.

While acknowledging that Nigeria’s elections have improved significantly since the controver­sial 2007 general elections, he insists that more reforms are necessary — particularly in the col­lation process, which he describes as the most vulnerable stage of the electoral process, reports Sunday Independent.

Excerpts:

As a Resident Electoral Commissioner, you are directly involved in Nigeria’s electoral pro­cesses. With the 2027 elections approaching, how prepared would you say INEC is at the moment?

Elections are not a one-day event. They are a long process consisting of several activities, and each activity must be carefully executed before the actual vot­ing day. In fact, there are about 14 major electoral activities that must be carried out sequentially when preparing for elec­tions.

Each one has its own timeline and operational requirements.

One of the most important activities is Continuous Voter Registration (CVR). That process started in August 2025. The first phase ended in December 2025, and the second phase began in January this year, which will run until April 17. The final phase will continue until around August. An­other important step we are taking is the effort to clean up the voter register.

Over time, voter registers can become inflated because some registered voters may have died while others may have relocated to different states.

INEC is therefore explor­ing processes such as voter revalidation to ensure that the register is credible enough to support a transparent election. At the same time, the commission has released the election timetable and schedule of ac­tivities, which outlines the key milestones leading up to the 2027 elections. Political parties have already begun their ward, local government, and state congresses, which are necessary steps in preparing their internal structures before primaries.

By April, political parties are expected to commence primaries to select their candi­dates. In addition to these activities, INEC is also working on procurement process­es, voter education campaigns, and stake­holder consultations to ensure that citi­zens and political actors understand the rules governing the upcoming elections. So, preparation is already well underway.

FUNDING TIMELINE MAY COMPLI­CATE PREPARATIONS

The Electoral Act now provides that election funds should be released 180 days before the election. Do you think this is adequate?

Personally, I believe 180 days is too short for the scale of elections we conduct in Nigeria.

Election management involves extensive procurement. You have to pro­cure ballot papers, ballot boxes, voting cu­bicles, technological devices, logistics ma­terials, and transportation arrangements for thousands of polling units across the country. These items cannot be procured overnight.

The reality in Nigeria is that election funds are rarely released in a sin­gle lump sum. Instead, they are usually released in tranches, depending on the government’s budget cycle and revenue inflows. That means INEC often receives funds gradually rather than all at once. When funding is released piecemeal, it be­comes difficult for the commission to plan procurement effectively. You may have to postpone certain contracts or delay logis­tics arrangements. Ideally, election funds should be released much earlier so that procurement and logistics planning can proceed smoothly.

From my perspective, the earlier timeline that existed before the amendment would have been more helpful.

Looking ahead to 2027, what do you think will be different from previous elections?

To answer that question, we must first situate Nigeria’s elections within the glob­al context of democratic decline.

Across the world today, democracy is facing seri­ous challenges. Some countries are expe­riencing democratic backsliding, and in parts of Africa we have even seen mili­tary coups returning to power. Against that background, Nigeria’s democracy has managed to survive, although not with­out difficulties. If we go back to 2007, Ni­geria experienced what many observers described as the worst elections since the return to democracy in 1999.

However, significant reforms began after the ap­pointment of Professor Attahiru Jega as INEC chairman in 2010. Since then, the commission has introduced several reforms that have gradually improved the electoral process. INEC now em­phasizes stakeholder consultations, meaning the commission regularly en­gages with political parties, civil society organisations, and the public.

We also operate with strategic plans that cover five-year periods, which help us evaluate our progress and identify areas for im­provement. These reforms have helped strengthen the institutional capacity of the commission.

How has technology improved the conduct of elections in Nigeria?

Technology has played a crucial role. At one stage, INEC introduced the Smart Card Reader, which verified the chip embedded in the Permanent Voter Card. Today, we have moved to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation Sys­tem (BVAS). BVAS verifies voters us­ing fingerprints or facial recognition, which greatly reduces the risk of iden­tity theft and multiple voting.

The voter register itself is also biometric-based, which improves the credibility of vot­er identification. The use of BVAS has significantly improved the integrity of the accreditation process.

COLLATION REMAINS WEAKEST LINK

Despite these improvements, many Nigeri­ans still question the credibility of election results. Where do you think the real problem lies?

The biggest challenge remains the collation of election results. Election re­sults are first declared at the polling unit level, but they must then move through several stages of collation — from the polling unit to the ward, then to the local government, and eventually to the state lev­el. It is during this movement that discrep­ancies sometimes occur. In other words, the figures recorded at the polling unit may change during the collation process.

This has damaged public confidence in elec­tions. INEC is therefore exploring ways to strengthen the integrity of the collation process through technology.

For example, the BVAS device now has the capability to generate results that correspond with the accreditation data stored in the system. If the number of votes recorded does not match the number of accredited voters, the system will detect the inconsistency during uploading. This is an innovation that many Nigerians are not yet fully aware of.

REAL-TIME TRANSMISSION STILL LIMITED BY INFRASTRUCTURE

There has been intense debate about real-time transmission of election results. What is your view on this issue?

Real-time transmission is desirable, but it must be understood within the context of Nigeria’s infrastructure limitations. Many parts of Nigeria still lack reliable telecom­munication network coverage. If there is no network connectivity at a polling unit, it becomes impossible to transmit results instantly. You cannot conduct elections in Nigeria using the infrastructure of another country.

We must work with the infrastruc­ture that exists within Nigeria. INEC does not have the resources to build telecommu­nications networks or construct nationwide polling facilities. We rely heavily on public infrastructure such as schools, which are often used as polling units.

Ad hoc staff are also accommodated in available public facilities, even when those facilities are not ideal. These limitations must be understood when discussing technological reforms in the electoral process.

Some analysts blame ethnicity and religion for Nigeria’s electoral problems. Do you agree?

Ethnicity and religion certainly play roles in our politics, but the deeper prob­lem is political culture. Many members of Nigeria’s political elite simply do not have the democratic temperament.

Democra­cy requires patience and respect for the rules of the game. But in Nigeria, many politicians want to win at all costs. They are often willing to manipulate the system because they believe that once they are de­clared winners, they can settle disputes in court later.

Until we develop stronger dem­ocratic values and attitudes, our electoral process will continue to face challenges.

POLITICAL PARTIES ARE WEAK

What role do political parties play in this situ­ation?

Political parties are supposed to be self-governing institutions, but in Nige­ria they face serious structural problems. First, many parties lack internal democ­racy.

Second, they are not socially root­ed. In many countries, political parties are built around social groups — workers, farmers, or ideological movements. But in Nigeria, parties are often coalitions of elites who unite mainly to gain access to power. Because they lack ideological foun­dations, parties frequently experience in­ternal conflicts and defections.

In states like Benue, internal divisions within political parties are becoming more visible. Do you think reconciliation is possible?

Politics is driven by enlightened self-interest. If political actors realise that division will weaken their chanc­es of winning elections, they may find ways to reconcile.

However, Nigerian pol­itics is heavily influenced by patronage networks. People often align themselves with whichever faction offers them the greatest political advantage.

The actors involved in these factions are not irra­tional. They are rational individuals pursuing their interests. Whether they reconcile will depend on whether unity serves those interests.