Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS has noted with surprise inaccurate press reports published today stating that it had sent a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declining an invitation to observe the 2027 polls in Nigeria and citing in the correspondence two reasons for this decision: the worsening security situation across the country and the hostile treatment of its observers and officials after the publication of its final report on the 2023 general election. This was contained in a statement signed by Gautier MIGNOT, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS.
The statement reads: “The EU Delegation confirms that it received a formal invitation (not a request) from the INEC, dated 17 April 2026, to deploy observers for the 2027 General Elections. In its response dated 28 July 2026, this Delegation thanked the INEC for its kind invitation and informed that the EU will field an Electoral Expert Mission (EEM), composed of two to four independent experts, who will formally be accredited as observers with the INEC. As explained in the letter: “An EEM, like an Electoral Observation Mission, assesses whether the electoral process is conducted in line with international, regional and national obligations and commitments on the conduct of democratic elections to which the country has subscribed.
The EEM submits a final report with recommendations on how to improve the electoral framework and future electoral processes, the report will be shared with the government, and if they agree, it can also be released to the wider public.”
“The EU Delegation further underlines that the two alleged reasons mentioned in the press reports do not appear in the letter: these are pure speculations. The European Union decides every year on electoral missions to be sent to partner countries issuing invitations to the EU and, if the decision is positive, the kind of mission to be sent to each of them, depending on individual situations and available resources. It is on this basis that the decision to conduct an EEM in Nigeria has been taken and will be further consulted with the relevant Nigerian authorities for its implementation. This decision does not affect in any way the continuation of the implementation of the EU-funded project “Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria” including its dimension of support to the electoral process.
“The EU Delegation respectfully reminds members of the esteemed media community that, to avoid issuing such misleading information about positions or statements of the EU, they can simply check their accuracy with the press and communication office of the EU Delegation, it also added.
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