INEC proposes N873bn for 2027 general elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has proposed a total sum of N873 billion to conduct the 2027 general elections.

The Chairman of the electoral commission, Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Thursday while defending the commission’s 2026 budget proposal before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters.

Mr Amupitan said the commission proposed N375 billion for election operational costs, N92 billion for administrative costs, N209 billion for election technology, N154 billion for capital expenditure, and N41 billion for miscellaneous expenses.

He noted that the submission complies with the provisions of the Electoral Act, which mandate that election-related appropriations be submitted to the National Assembly at least 360 days before the election.

He clarified that the proposed ₦873.778 billion for the 2027 elections is separate from INEC’s 2026 budget estimate. For the 2026 fiscal year, the Commission is proposing ₦171 billion to cover personnel, overhead and election-related activities, including by-elections and off-cycle polls.

Breakdown

Under election operational costs, INEC proposed N318 billion for the production of election materials. This includes N37 billion for printing ballot papers, N23 billion for printing result sheets, N16 billion for procurement of non-sensitive materials, and another N16 billion for election management materials and forms.

For continuous voter registration (CVR), the commission proposed N29 billion for a voter revalidation exercise to enhance the integrity of the voter register.

On administrative costs, INEC proposed N500 million for an election retreat for staff in preparation for the 2027 polls, and another N500 million for meetings with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

A total of N7 billion was proposed for the storage and logistics of sensitive election materials at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) offices nationwide. The commission also proposed N1.2 billion for the repair and servicing of 500 operational vehicles at its headquarters and state offices, as well as N390 million for staff recruitment.

Under election technology costs, N1.3 billion was proposed for ICT expenses. This includes N162 million for upgrading the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal and N1.2 billion for the Hybrid e-EC8A and Result Management System.

The commission also proposed N12 billion for printing Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for the CVR exercise.

For capital expenditure, INEC proposed N18 billion for the purchase of ballot boxes and another N18 billion for voting cubicles across the 176,846 polling units nationwide.

The commission also plans to procure walkie-talkie communication devices and install solar lighting in its facilities nationwide for N212 million.

N630 million for political office holders’ medical checkups

Moses Fayinka, the lawmaker representing Mushin II Federal Constituency of Lagos State, questioned a proposed budget line item allocating N630 million for annual medical check-ups for political office holders, which was incorporated into the 2026 proposal of the commission.

Responding, Mr Amupitan said the budget template was prepared by the Federal Ministry of Finance and suggested that the provision may cover remuneration-related medical benefits for the INEC chairman, Resident Electoral Commissioners, and National Commissioners.

He warned that altering the template could affect the commission’s access to funding from the Federation Account.

“The templates you have are provided by the federal ministry of finance. It is remuneration for the chairman, RECs, and the national commissioner. If you change the template as provided by the ministry of finance, it will become a problem, some may not have finance,” he said.

Senator questions purchase of new voting cubicles

Cross-River South Senator, Asuquo Ekpeyong, questioned why the commission plans to procure additional voting cubicles, given that it used existing ones in previous elections.

In response, Mr Amupitan explained that INEC intends to procure larger cubicles to curb vote-buying and other forms of electoral malpractice.

He said stakeholder engagements and reports from international observers, including the European Union and the United Kingdom, commended the commission’s efforts in previous elections but highlighted concerns about vote-buying.

“One of the major concerns, even during the Anambra election, INEC did everything possible to ensure that the election was credible, and we went the extra mile. However, we cannot have a perfect election. Nonetheless, from all the reports, including the European Union report and the report from the UK, we were given very high commendations, but their report had, has to do with the issue of vote buying,” he said.

The commission chairman noted that stakeholders suggested that larger cubicles would allow voters to mark their ballots and deposit them immediately without stepping out, thereby preventing situations where voters display their ballots as proof of compliance with vote-buying arrangements.

“When we had stakeholder engagement, the essence of the stakeholder engagement is also to have something to take away from them, and the suggestions they made as to one of the measures to curb vote buying, apart from protection, is that the cubicles we’re using now are just too small. So, we are to expand it in such a way that the ballot boxes will also be able to accommodate it, so that you don’t need to vote and come out and drop your ballot.

“So, we’re going to have a cubicle that allows you to do your voting and put it here and there immediately. A situation where somebody will vote and come out and show it to everybody as a confirmation will no longer arise. So, for that reason, we also put our heads together to see that you vote and then you drop your ballot,” Mr Amupitan said.

NYSC seeks increase in election duty allowances

During the meeting, Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun (APC, Lagos), informed lawmakers that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) had requested an increase in the allowances paid to corps members deployed for election duty.

Mr Balogun, who represents Ibeju-Lekki Federal Constituency of Lagos State, said the NYSC proposed a payment of N127,000 for five days, covering training and feeding allowances.

However, the committee resolved that the final amount to be appropriated to corps members would be determined during the budget approval process.

Mr Balogun also cautioned INEC against making commitments it may struggle to fulfil.

He recalled that during the last general election, the commission assured Nigerians that results would be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IREV) portal in real time, even though the portal was not expressly provided for in the Electoral Act but only in INEC’s regulations.

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

Contributing, Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external institutions should not impose rigid budgetary frameworks on INEC, given the sensitivity of its mandate.

He urged that “the envelope system be reviewed in favour of a structure that reflects the commission’s actual needs to avoid claims of underfunding.”

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Similarly, Billy Osawaru, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, advocated placing INEC’s budget on first-line charge in line with constitutional provisions, with funds released fully and promptly to support effective planning.

The joint committee subsequently adopted a motion recommending a one-off release of INEC’s annual allocation.

Chair of the Senate Committee on INEC, Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South), assured that the National Assembly would collaborate with the commission to ensure adequate support for the 2027 elections.