The Independent National Electoral Commission has unveiled plans for a real-time readiness tracker as Nigeria’s voter register approaches the 100 million mark ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Lagos while opening a two-day strategic operational workshop for the commission’s Administrative Secretaries.

The 2027 election tracker is designed to give INEC’s leadership instant visibility into preparations across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

According to the commission, the system will monitor critical areas including the distribution of election materials, recruitment and training of ad hoc personnel, technology and overall state-level readiness.

Amupitan said the initiative was intended to move INEC away from a last-minute approach to election preparation and towards what he described as “proactive management”.

The tracker will be linked to INEC’s Election Monitoring and Support Centre dashboard and Election Project Plan, allowing officials at the headquarters and state level to monitor progress and identify operational gaps ahead of the polls.

The development comes as the national register of voters approaches 100 million.

INEC said its Continuous Voter Registration exercise, conducted in three phases between August 2025 and July 2026, produced 10,772,421 new registrants, subject to ongoing biometric verification.

The commission had recorded 93,469,008 registered voters for the 2023 general elections, making the projected growth a significant increase in the number of voters the electoral body will have to service in 2027.

Amupitan said the commission was also reviewing logistics and materials management, electoral technology, ad hoc staff optimisation and financial compliance as part of its preparations.

He said the lessons from recent off-cycle elections, particularly the Osun governorship poll, would be used to strengthen preparations nationwide.

The INEC chairman said the real test of the commission’s preparedness would be at local government areas, registration centres and polling units rather than in offices in Abuja.

He also identified voter apathy, public distrust and misinformation as major challenges that could affect the 2027 electoral process.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for February 20, 2027, while the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for March 6, according to INEC’s published timetable.

With the voter population expected to approach or exceed 100 million, the commission faces the challenge of ensuring that its expanding electoral infrastructure is matched by effective logistics, reliable technology and adequate personnel.

INEC said the new tracking system would not be limited to the 2027 elections, but would also serve as a permanent operational framework for future Administrative Secretaries.