The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has opened its media accreditation portal for organisations covering Nigeria Decides 2027 elections.
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Applications opened on Friday, October 30, 2026, and will close on Tuesday, December 1. INEC said late applications will not be accepted, as the portal will shut automatically at the deadline.
The official portal allows media organisations to register, apply for an election and nominate journalists for accreditation. Eligible organisations include television, radio, newspaper, online and magazine outlets.
Individual journalists cannot apply independently. They must be nominated by their media organisation, and accreditation is granted separately for each election.
How the accreditation process works
Media organisations must first register and complete their profile. For each election, they select the states they intend to cover, provide a contact person and upload an application letter. A recent publication may also be submitted.
A State or headquarters administrator reviews the application and recommends it for capping. INEC then determines the maximum number of field and collation-centre staff the organisation may nominate. Applications may be flagged for review or rejected.
Once caps are set, organisations nominate journalists from their staff list and select each nominee’s deployment state. INEC reviews nominees individually and approves or rejects them. Applicants can track the process through the portal.
Approved journalists receive media tags with QR codes for verification.
Documents and application limits
The application letter and any recent publication must be uploaded as PDF files of no more than 2 MB each. INEC sets separate caps for field staff and collation-centre staff, and organisations may nominate journalists only within those limits.
Organisations can edit an application while the window remains open, provided INEC has not recommended or capped it and staff have not been nominated.
Media organisations should submit applications well before the deadline to avoid missing the accreditation window.
How to apply
Visit https://imap.inecnigeria.org and register your media organisation. Complete its profile, select the election and coverage states, enter a contact person and upload the required documents. Submit the application, monitor its status, nominate journalists within INEC’s caps, track each nominee’s approval and receive accreditation tags for approved staff. Apply before December 1, 2026.
