The European Union has denied reports that it will have no role in observing Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, saying it will deploy a team of electoral experts to monitor the polls.
The clarification comes following earlier report that the EU had backed out of deploying an election observation mission for the 2027 elections.
However, the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS has now said it accepted the invitation of the Independent National Electoral Commission to participate in the electoral process.
EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, describing reports that the bloc rejected INEC’s invitation as inaccurate.
Mignot explained that the EU would deploy an Electoral Expert Mission comprising between two and four independent experts, who would be formally accredited as observers by INEC.
He said INEC invited the EU on April 17, 2026, to deploy observers for the 2027 elections, while the EU responded to the invitation on July 28.
“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,” Mignot said.
The Ambassador said the expert mission would assess Nigeria’s electoral process against international, regional and national obligations and commitments relating to democratic elections.
He added that the team would produce a final report containing recommendations on how Nigeria could improve its electoral framework and future elections.
Mignot said the report would be presented to the Nigerian government and could be made public if the government agreed.
The EU envoy also dismissed claims that the bloc decided against deploying a larger mission because of Nigeria’s worsening security situation or alleged hostile treatment of EU observers and officials following the release of its report on the 2023 elections.
“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,” he said.
According to Mignot, the EU reviews electoral missions to partner countries every year, taking into consideration the circumstances in each country and available resources before deciding whether to deploy a mission and what form it should take.
He said the review resulted in the decision to send an Electoral Expert Mission to Nigeria for the 2027 elections, with discussions with relevant Nigerian authorities continuing over its implementation.
The clarification means the EU will not be completely absent from Nigeria’s 2027 electoral process, although it will not deploy the larger-scale observation mission seen during previous election cycles.
Mignot also stressed that the decision would not affect the EU-funded Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria project, which includes continued assistance for Nigeria’s electoral process.
