The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has trained electoral officers and disability desk officers in Lagos State on inclusive election administration, urging them to remove barriers that prevent persons with disabilities (PWDs) from voting independently in the 2027 general elections.
The training took place on Monday during a sensitisation programme involving PWDs, electoral officers and disability desk officers. INEC’s Lagos Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Ayobami Salami, delivered his address through the commission’s Administrative Secretary, Mrs Oluyemi Adeyemi-Showunmi.
Salami said electoral inclusion must extend beyond providing physical access to polling units to ensuring that voters with disabilities can register, obtain electoral information and exercise their voting rights safely, independently and with dignity.
He said INEC would continue to assess its procedures, facilities, communication methods and operational arrangements to ensure that eligible voters were not disadvantaged because of disability. He also stressed the need for electoral personnel to provide respectful, non-discriminatory assistance.
The commission outlined several measures aimed at improving accessibility during the elections. These include Braille ballot guides across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Braille-transcribed voter education materials, EC30 PWD posters for deaf voters and magnifying glasses for visually impaired voters and persons with albinism.
INEC also plans to deploy certified sign language interpreters at state collation centres to improve communication and access to electoral information. Salami urged officials to understand the purpose of the assistive materials and ensure they reach the voters who need them.
He said effective inclusion would require coordination across the commission’s administrative, electoral operations, voter education and logistics departments.
The programme also brought INEC into direct engagement with the disability community. Salami commended the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Lagos State, for participating in discussions on electoral access and the needs of voters with disabilities.
JONAPWD Lagos chairman Bolarinwa Salami urged the commission to ensure polling units were accessible to voters with different disabilities, saying the right to vote could only be meaningful when people could participate on equal terms.
The training comes as INEC intensifies preparations for the 2027 general elections. The commission’s chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said on October 6 that its national voter register contained 232,658 registered voters with disabilities across 10 categories.
The categories include people with visual and physical impairments, deafness, albinism, autism, cognitive or learning disabilities, Down syndrome, spinal cord injuries and other disabilities.
Disability rights advocates have warned that providing assistive materials is not enough unless electoral staff know how to use them. The Albino Foundation has previously urged INEC to improve logistics, train temporary election workers and monitor whether accessibility tools are actually deployed and used at polling units.
INEC’s latest initiative is intended to strengthen the practical implementation of disability inclusion ahead of the 2027 polls, with the stated goal of ensuring that eligible voters can participate in the democratic process without unnecessary barriers.
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