INEC Proposes N873.78bn Budget for 2027 General Elections, Seeks N171bn for 2026 Operations

INEC has proposed N873.78bn budget for 2027 General Elections and sought N171bn for 2026 operations.

NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has told the National Assembly that it requires N873.78 billion to conduct the 2027 general elections, alongside N171 billion to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this while presenting the Commission’s 2026 budget proposal and projected 2027 election costs before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.

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According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn estimate covers the full conduct of national polls in 2027. The additional N171bn is proposed to support routine activities in 2026, including bye-elections and off-season elections.

He clarified that the proposed election budget does not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad-hoc election staff.

Breakdown of 2027 Election Budget

 

Amupitan explained that the nearly N1 trillion election estimate is structured into five major components:

• N379.75bn – Operational costs

• N92.32bn – Administrative costs

• N209.21bn – Technological costs

• N154.91bn – Election capital costs

• N42.61bn – Miscellaneous expenses

He noted that the proposal complies 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.

2026 Budget Proposal

For the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan revealed that the Ministry of Finance provided a budget envelope of N140bn, but INEC is proposing total expenditure of N171bn.

The breakdown includes:

• N109bn – Personnel costs

• N18.7bn – Overheads

• N42.63bn – Election-related activities

• N1.4bn – Capital expenditure

The INEC Chairman argued that the envelope budgeting system is unsuitable for the Commission’s operations, stressing that its activities require urgent and flexible funding mechanisms.

He also identified the absence of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, noting that establishing an independent network infrastructure would improve transparency and accountability, particularly regarding technical glitches.

Lawmakers React

Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) stated that external agencies should not dictate INEC’s budgeting framework, given the sensitive nature of its mandate. He urged the National Assembly to work with the Commission’s proposal to prevent underfunding.

Similarly, Hon. Billy Osawaru called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge, as provided by the Constitution, to ensure full and timely release of funds ahead of the 2027 elections.

The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of INEC’s annual budget. It also pledged to consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to raise election duty allowances for corps members to N125,000 each.

Senator Simon Along, Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, assured that the National Assembly would collaborate closely with the Commission to guarantee adequate support for the 2027 elections.

On his part, Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, cautioned INEC against making commitments it might not be able to fulfill. He referenced the 2023 elections, noting that assurances regarding real-time result uploads to the INEC Result Viewing (iREV) portal created high public expectations.

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