The European Union (EU) has denied reports that it rejected an invitation from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to observe Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, dismissed the reports as inaccurate in a statement issued on Monday.

Reports had claimed that the EU declined to deploy an election observation mission to Nigeria, allegedly citing worsening insecurity and what was described as hostile treatment following its 2023 election observation mission.

The reports were widely circulated by some media organisations and political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The PDP had described the alleged withdrawal as “historic” and another indication of what it called a loss of confidence in the management of elections under the All Progressives Congress-led administration.

However, Mignot said the EU had not rejected INEC’s invitation and had instead agreed to deploy an Electoral Expert Mission (EEM) for the 2027 elections.

He said the EU delegation received a formal invitation from INEC dated April 17, 2026, to deploy observers for the general elections.

According to the ambassador, the EU responded to the invitation on July 28, informing INEC that it would field an EEM comprising between two and four independent experts.

The experts, he said, would be formally accredited as observers by INEC.

“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,” Mignot said.

He explained that the mission would submit a final report containing recommendations on how Nigeria could improve its electoral framework and future electoral processes.

The report would be shared with the Nigerian government and could be made publicly available if the government agrees.

EU rejects reasons attributed to decision

Mignot also rejected the reasons attributed to the EU in the reports claiming that it had declined to observe the election.

“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.

He explained that the EU reviews electoral missions to partner countries annually and determines whether to deploy a mission, as well as the type of mission to be sent, based on individual circumstances 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,” he said.

The EU has deployed election observation missions to Nigeria for successive general elections since 2003, making the country one of the bloc’s longest-running election observation engagements in Africa.

Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, the EU deployed a core team of 11 experts to Abuja in January, followed by 40 long-term observers across the country.

Mignot urged the public and media organisations to exercise caution when reporting statements or positions attributed to the EU, stressing the need to verify such claims with the bloc before publication.

The clarification effectively puts to rest reports that the EU had withdrawn from observing Nigeria’s 2027 elections, while confirming that a smaller Electoral Expert Mission will be deployed for the poll.