The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that all sensitive materials for the 2027 elections, including ballot papers and result sheets, will be printed locally.
Naija News reports that the electoral body had on Saturday released the names and particulars of governorship candidates and their running mates across the country.
Speaking with Punch, INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Harun, said the commission inspected local printing companies and was satisfied with their capacity and security arrangements to handle the production of sensitive election materials.
He revealed that ballot papers and result sheets would be printed close to the elections because of their sensitive nature, and the materials would then be delivered to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for safekeeping and distribution.
“Everything is going to be printed locally. Sensitive materials, for us, are ballot papers and the result sheets, and we don’t print those ones early because they are sensitive.
“So, it’s fairly close to the election that we print and deliver them to CBN, and from there, they are normally collected and distributed in the presence of everybody, including civil society organisations, media, party agents,” he said.
The national commissioner said INEC had already begun procuring and producing non-sensitive election materials, including ballot boxes, as part of preparations for the 2027 polls.
He added that the commission had also placed orders for other critical election equipment, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines, while banners were being produced to meet anticipated shortfalls.
“Ballot papers are already set to be printed by local printers. We have local printers that are up to the capacity,” he said.
However, the national commissioner identified the shortened electoral timetable as one of the major constraints facing the commission in its preparations for the 2027 elections.
“The problem is time,” Haruna said.
He explained that preparations for the 2027 elections were taking place under a tighter timeframe following the amendment of the electoral law, which reduced the period available for election preparations.
“Last time, we got the money for the election in sufficient time, so we had sufficient time to plan. It is a little bit tighter this time around. You know very well the electoral law cut it down by six months. Instead of one year, now it’s six months,” he said.
Haruna said the commission had already received part of the funds required for the elections and was working on selecting printers to handle the various contracts.
The commissioner, however, dismissed concerns about local printers’ ability to securely produce election materials, maintaining that the companies the commission was considering had adequate security arrangements.
“The last general election was a precedent. Did you hear any complaints? We didn’t have any issue with the printers,” he added.
