INEC yet to receive budgeted funds for 2027 general elections – INEC commissioner

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that it is yet to receive its budgetary allocations for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.

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Malam Mohammed Haruna, the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, disclosed this during a cross-sectoral interactive session in Abuja organized by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in partnership with Legis360.

The interactive “fireside chat,” which brought together political parties, civil society organizations (CSOs), and electoral officials, focused on the recently concluded Ekiti State governorship election and the commission’s ongoing preparations for the 2027 general elections.

Haruna noted that while the commission is still awaiting the release of the funds, early-stage preparations are moving forward. INEC has proposed a total budget of N873.78 billion for the 2027 general elections, with substantial portions earmarked for election operations, technology deployment, and capital expenditure.

The National Commissioner explained that the funding status remains within legal limits under the Electoral Act, 2026, which mandates that funds for any general election must be released to the commission “not later than six months before the next general election.”

Despite the budgetary delay, the commission is already arranging for the procurement of new election materials, including the replacement of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices that were damaged, lost, or unrecovered during previous cycles.

“Our director of ICT just returned from China regarding procurement because not all the BVAS devices used during the last general elections were recovered,” Haruna stated. “Orders need to be placed, and these things take time.”

To prevent a repeat of the technical hitches that affected the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal during the 2023 presidential election, Haruna announced plans to conduct mock presidential election exercises to rigorously test the technology ahead of time.

Addressing public concerns over the high cost of Nigerian elections, Haruna urged citizens to look at the average cost per voter rather than the total sum. 

“This N800 billion plus sounds humongous, but when you calculate the average cost per voter, it is about six dollars, which is reasonable for a country such as Nigeria,” Haruna explained. “People forget that virtually everything we use is imported. The BVAS devices and a lot of other election materials are imported. Exchange rate fluctuations also affect these costs.”

Conflicting court judgments and late-stage orders continue to present significant operational hurdles for the umpire. Haruna cited instances where injunctions received between 24 and 48 hours before the Ekiti governorship election disrupted administrative workflows and the production of final result sheets.

“When a court gives a last-minute injunction to include parties like the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), we are forced to reconfigure the software and update physical materials instantly,” Haruna said. “This leaves very little room to test the systems extensively, though we still manage to achieve substantial compliance with the rules.”