Amupitan: I’ll audit IReV to identify glitches that undermined 2023 elections

Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, has pledged to conduct an audit of the INEC results viewing (IReV) portal to address glitches that undermined public confidence during the 2023 elections.

The IReV portal was part of the technologies introduced by the commission to improve the transparency of the electoral process.

The commission had assured Nigerians that polling unit results would be uploaded to the portal in real-time during the 2023 presidential election.

The portal remained inactive for an extended period, even after voting was concluded at some polling units, prompting suspicion from many Nigerians.

Speaking during his screening at the senate on Thursday, Amupitan noted that the purpose of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) and IReV is to ensure the integrity of elections, a goal shared by election technologies worldwide.

“I believe what happened in 2023 was subsumed as a glitch,” he said.

“Before the election, my understanding, based on a review of Supreme Court decisions, was that there was no clarity as to the purpose of IReV.”

He said the supreme court later clarified that IReV is not an electronic collation system, a position that was not adequately communicated by INEC before the election.

“The IReV was supposed to be a safeguard for comparison because the laws made by this distinguished Senate did not do away with manual collation. However, IReV was supposed to provide some guarantee for checks and balances,” Amupitan added.

Amupitan said he will audit the system to identify the actual issues and assess whether it is currently capable of meeting the electoral needs of the country.

“I have to audit the system, if I’m given the opportunity, to see what is actually wrong and whether we have what it takes as it is now,” he said.

“Because it is not just the INEC responsibility, but also the other agencies like NCC, NIMC
and the service providers that will have to work together to ensure that we give Nigerians the technology that everybody will be happy about.”

INEC AUTONOMY

Amupitan assured the national assembly that he will explore constitutional provisions to guarantee the commission’s true independence if confirmed.

He acknowledged that INEC’s autonomy has been hampered by financial constraints and a lack of awareness of its constitutional powers.

“I have not taken over to know the nitty-gritty. But from past experience — although it has been legislated that funds should be released a year before elections — you find out that this does not come in time; and this still makes the institution financially constrained,” he said.

Amupitan pledged to examine the constitution, alongside laws enacted by the national assembly, to ensure INEC’s independence.

He promised to conduct an audit to identify factors limiting autonomy and address them accordingly.

“We will look at the spirit and letter of the constitution, as well as the laws made by the national assembly,” he added.

“We will use our knowledge to ensure that INEC is independent. And we will have an audit to see what are those factors and we shall deal with them accordingly. I can give that assurance.”

Amupitan replaces Mahmood Yakubu who bowed out as INEC chairman on October 7, 2025.