The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said workers of the commission remain among the least-paid employees in the country.

Amupitan made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja while outlining INEC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections at a World Press Conference.

He said the commission had taken measures to improve the welfare of its personnel, stressing that better remuneration was essential to ensuring accountability and improved performance.

According to him, INEC had taken what he described as “some very radical steps” to prioritise the welfare of its workforce.

“INEC staff are the least paid in Nigeria. So, we felt if we want to demand and hold our staff responsible, we should give them a living wage,” Amupitan said.

The INEC chairman explained that the commission was no longer operating under the conventional civil service salary structure, as it had established a separate electoral and salary structure.

“We are not called civil servants. What we have learned under the civil service payment structure, which we have just removed INEC from, is to have their own separate structure, electoral structure, and separate salary structure from the civil service,” he said.

Amupitan also disclosed that the commission had identified various gaps within the electoral system and was working towards addressing them ahead of the 2027 elections.

“There are many others that we have discovered. And we felt that if they address all, it will be able to solve some of the problems we have with the system,” he said.

On election reruns, the INEC chairman said the commission was already making adequate provisions for such elections as part of its preparations for 2027.

He noted that rerun elections were constitutionally recognised and therefore had to be incorporated into the commission’s electoral planning.

“The issue of rerun is a constitutional matter. And as we are planning for the election, you have to plan for a rerun,” Amupitan said.

He added that the Constitution provides the procedures and protocols guiding the conduct of rerun elections.