INEC Proposes N873.77Bn To Conduct 2027 General Elections, N171Bn As 2026 Budget

By Alkassim Bala Tsakuwa, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented a proposal of N873 billion to conduct the forthcoming 2027 general elections in the country.

It also proposes N171 billion as its 2026 budget for its operations including conducting by-elections and off-cycle elections.

Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this during the 2026 budget defence and the presentation of the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters on Thursday.

He clarified that the N873.77 billion was for conducting the 2027 general election while the N171 billion was it’s 2026 budget proposal for its operations in the fiscal year.

He further informed that, the projected election budget does not also include a fresh proposal by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) seeking an increase in allowances for Corps members being engaged as ad-hoc staff during elections.

Prof. Amupitan explained that although details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the nearly N1 trillion election budget is structured across five major components which include; N379.748 billion for operational costs; N92.317 billion for administrative costs; N209.206 billion for technological costs; N154.905 billion for election capital costs; and N42.608 billion for miscellaneous expenses.

The INEC chairman noted 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.

While shedding more light on the 2026 fiscal year, he said the Ministry of Finance provided the Commission with a budget envelope of N140 billion saying that, the Commission proposed a total expenditure of N171 billion.

The breakdown indicated that, N109 billion was for personnel costs; N18.7 billion for overheads; N42.63 billion for election-related activities; and N1.4 billion for capital expenditure.

He argued that the envelope budgeting system is not suitable for the Commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often require urgent and flexible funding.

He also identified the lack of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the Commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be in a better position to hold it accountable for any technical failures.

In his observation, Senator Adams Oshiomhole said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the unique and sensitive nature of its mandate.

He urged that the envelope system be set aside for the Commission and that Parliament should work with INEC’s actual requirements to avoid future complaints of underfunding.

Similarly, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. 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 proper planning and execution of its responsibilities.

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 N32 billion to increase allowances for Corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.

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

On his part, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Bayo Balogun, cautioned the Commission against making promises it may not be able to fulfill.

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

He said, “Meanwhile, the IREV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises”.