The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced plans to strengthen its partnership with the National Orientation Agency, NOA, to address voter apathy, vote buying and the spread of fake news ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC made the commitment on Wednesday during a courtesy visit by the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, to the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, where he was received by INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan.
Speaking during the meeting, Amupitan identified voter apathy and misinformation as some of the most serious threats confronting Nigeria’s electoral process, stressing that sustained voter education would be critical to the success of the 2027 elections.
According to him, collaboration between INEC and the NOA is indispensable in restoring public confidence in the electoral system and encouraging greater citizen participation.
“Our partnership on voter education is not optional; it is an absolute necessity. We are confronted by a silent but dangerous challenge in our electoral ecosystem, growing voter apathy and deep-rooted cynicism.
“We witnessed this during recent off-cycle elections where voter turnout fell far below the level of public political engagement. At the same time, there has been a coordinated wave of fake news and disinformation aimed at convincing Nigerians that their votes do not count,” he said.
The INEC chairman said both institutions must jointly develop a robust, community-based voter education campaign that goes beyond announcing election dates to educating citizens on the importance of voting and the safeguards put in place to protect the integrity of the process.
Speaking earlier, the NOA Director General, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, had pledged the Agency’s preparedness to collaborate with INEC to combat voter apathy, vote buying and fake News by carrying out massive and effective voter education on the electorate in all the 36 states of the Federation FCT and the grassroots given the spread of NOA’s offices in every state and local government areas of the country.
