INEC Proposes N873.78bn Budget for 2027 General Elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday informed the National Assembly that it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections.

The agency also demanded N171bn to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.

The N873.78bn proposed for the 2027 elections represents a significant increase from the N313.4bn released by the Federal Government for the conduct of the 2023 general election.

The country will hold general elections in 2027, while Ekiti and Osun states will conduct governorship elections this year, alongside the Federal Capital Territory election and by-elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, disclosed this while presenting the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.

According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn election budget covers the full conduct of the 2027 general elections, while the N171bn proposal for 2026 is to support routine activities, including by-elections and off-season polls.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria noted that the proposed election budget did not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad hoc staff during elections.

He explained that although details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the nearly N1tn election budget was structured across five major components.

“N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses,” Amupitan said.

He stated that the budget was prepared “in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates the commission to prepare its election budget at least one year before the general election.”

On the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan disclosed that the Ministry of Finance provided a budget envelope of N140bn, but added that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”

The breakdown includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital expenditure.

Yakubu argued that the envelope budgeting system was not suitable for the commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often required urgent and flexible funding.

He also identified the absence of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be better positioned to hold it accountable for any technical disruptions.

Speaking at the session, Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the sensitive nature of its mandate. He advocated setting aside the envelope budgeting model.

He urged the National Assembly to align with INEC’s financial proposal to avoid possible underfunding.

Similarly, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Billy Osawaru, called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge as provided in the Constitution, with funds released in full and on time to enable early planning for the 2027 general elections.

The joint committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the commission’s annual budget.

The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to increase allowances for corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Simon Lalong, assured that the National Assembly would work closely with the commission to ensure it received the necessary support for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.

Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, pledged legislative support but cautioned the commission against making commitments it might not fulfil.

He recalled that during the 2023 general election, INEC made assurances about uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing portal, creating the impression that results could be monitored in real time.

“IReV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.