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The European Union (EU) delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS has rejected reports that alleged it declined an invitation from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to observe the country’s forthcoming 2027 elections.
Gautier Mignot, EU ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, distanced the bloc from the reports in a statement on Monday.
According to the reports, the EU cited “worsening insecurity and hostile treatment” following its 2023 election observation mission as the basis for the alleged decision.
The claim was widely reported by some media outlets and political parties including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The EU has deployed election observation missions to Nigeria for every general election since 2003, making the country one of its longest-running election observation engagements in Africa.
Ahead of the February 2023 presidential election, a core team of 11 EU experts arrived in Abuja in January, followed by 40 long-term observers deployed around the country.
The PDP described the bloc’s alleged decision to withdraw from the forthcoming elections as “historic” and among numerous “votes of no confidence by strategic stakeholders in election management under this APC-led administration”.
EU RESPONDS
Mignot said the reports were inaccurate.
“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,” the ambassador said in a statement.
“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.”
Mignot cautioned against misleading information about positions or statements of the EU without confirmation from the bloc.
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