2027 Under Threat: Fresh Fears As Sources Reveal Alleged Rigging Plot

Fresh fears are mounting over the credibility of the 2027 general elections, as insiders within the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) warn that the polls could go down as the worst in Nigeria’s history if urgent safeguards are not enforced.

According to exclusive information obtained by Vanguard, political actors are said to have infiltrated INEC’s system, plotting to manipulate operations and twist outcomes in critical areas.

One alleged strategy involves the duplication of EC8 result forms at the polling unit, ward, and local government levels. A source disclosed that two sets of Forms EC8A, EC8B, and EC8C would be produced—one for public display at polling units and another secretly reserved for the “strategic allocation” of votes.

The insider further explained that the scheme is designed to create discrepancies between physically recorded results and those uploaded on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), effectively undermining transparency.

INEC’s acclaimed innovations—the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the IReV—are also reportedly at risk of systematic abuse.

Worryingly, sources allege that during the off-cycle elections in Kogi (2023), Edo (2024), and Ondo (2024), pre-prepared results were uploaded to the IReV before polls officially closed, casting doubts on the platform’s reliability.

Civil society monitors also documented troubling anomalies. In Edo, for instance, vote counts allegedly exceeded the number of accredited voters, which observers flagged as clear evidence of manipulation.

Election observers and civil society groups are now sounding the alarm, pointing to a disturbing pattern even in post-2023 by-elections—ranging from suspicious delays in IReV uploads to the use of alternative “original” result sheets allegedly crafted by compromised insiders.

Unless checked, stakeholders fear, the 2027 elections may plunge Nigeria into another cycle of disputed outcomes and democratic backsliding.