2027 Elections: INEC Raises Concern Over N371bn Funding Gap, Says Timely Release Critical

With 111 days to the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has raised concerns over the non-release of about N371 billion from the N873.78 billion budget projected for the polls.

 

The commission said sustained funding would be critical to effective planning, logistics, technology deployment and security ahead of the elections.

 

INEC received more than N500 billion in June, representing over half of its election budget, but the outstanding funds are still required to complete procurement and other preparations.

 

The funding gap is significant as several election-related activities, including the production and collection of Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, procurement of electoral materials, deployment of technology, payment of contractors and nationwide logistics, require timely financial commitments.

 

The commission had proposed N873.78 billion for the 2027 general elections, comprising N379.75 billion for election operations, N92.31 billion for administration, N209.21 billion for technology, N154.91 billion for capital expenditure and N42.61 billion for miscellaneous expenses.

 

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, had disclosed that the commission received more than N500 billion in late June.

 

Haruna acknowledged outstanding financial obligations, including about N6 billion owed contractors and more than N140 billion from its statutory allocation for the previous election cycle.

 

He also said the commission was already undertaking preparations, including plans to procure additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, devices.

 

According to him, INEC’s ICT officials had travelled to China to finalise arrangements for the importation of the equipment.

 

“Certainly, we are concerned. Everyone shares this concern. Ultimately, the funds must be available. Therefore, it is encouraging news that more than half has been released,” Haruna said.

 

Meanwhile, INEC said it had made progress in implementing its 14-point timetable for the 2027 elections.

 

Speaking at a Democracy and Governance Forum in Abuja organised by West Africa Democracy Radio, WADR, Director of Planning and Monitoring at INEC, Helen Ajayi, who represented the commission’s chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said the revised timetable was released on February 26, 2026.

 

She said the timetable covered 14 critical activities and had been translated into a coordinated programme involving INEC’s 23 departments and directorates, 36 state offices, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas.

 

Ajayi said the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise and display of the preliminary register of voters for claims and objections had been concluded, while the generation of the nationwide PDF register and synchronisation of CVR data were ongoing.

 

She added that preparations for PVC collection had commenced, while procurement and distribution of non-sensitive electoral materials to state offices were underway.

 

According to her, INEC had also trained Grade Level 8 to 16 personnel at the state level and was preparing voter education campaigns on voting procedures, accreditation, BVAS, PVC collection and election-day processes.

 

On technology, Ajayi said improvements to BVAS and deployment of the EC8A result form were aimed at strengthening result visibility and reducing opportunities for manual interference.

 

However, civil society groups and other stakeholders have expressed concerns that delays in funding could affect the pace and quality of electoral preparations.

 

A board member of WADR, Dr Abubakar Muhammad Kudu, identified funding, communication and public trust as major issues requiring attention before the elections.

 

He urged INEC to communicate more frequently with stakeholders, improve transparency and ensure funds are released down the implementation chain.

 

Kudu also described BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV, as important to electoral credibility.

 

Pro-democracy activist, Ene Obi, urged Nigerians to participate actively in the 2027 elections, while public policy analyst Jide Ojo and veteran journalist Topsy Gimba called on the media to hold political actors accountable.

 

Earlier, INEC Chairman Amupitan stressed that adequate funding was indispensable to the successful conduct of the elections, particularly for logistics and security.

 

Speaking in Owerri, Imo State, at the sixth Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, Amupitan said INEC’s funding was constitutionally a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, but the scale of its responsibilities required sustained financial support.

 

He said INEC’s responsibilities included conducting presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly elections, as well as voter registration and registration of political parties.

 

“Sometimes, it is not what you would like to do that you are able to do because of financial constraints. The system does make allocations of what is available and what is affordable at a particular time for the expenses and appropriation of the agencies, including the police and also including INEC,” he said.

 

Amupitan said adequate funding was required for the deployment of personnel and electoral materials to local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units.

 

He warned that even where security agencies succeeded in maintaining peace, inadequate logistics could undermine the electoral process.

 

The INEC chairman also said election expenditure, including security-related costs, should be regarded as a collective national responsibility.

 

“In Nigeria, we want the best. We want our electoral system to be 100 per cent. But sometimes we don’t ask ourselves the question: if we want the nation to be perfect, there must be a cost for it,” he said.

 

Amupitan further charged the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to maintain professional neutrality and strengthen intelligence gathering ahead of the polls.

 

He said security agencies must protect voters, electoral officials and materials while remaining neutral among competing political interests.

 

The INEC chairman urged the police to adopt intelligence-led and proactive strategies to identify threats, flashpoints and perpetrators before election day.

 

“Intelligence, we even need to be abreast of some of those perpetrators before the election. Because most of the time, a lot of money is involved,” he said.

 

He warned that insecurity could prevent voting in some areas, render elections inconclusive and undermine public confidence in the electoral process.

 

Amupitan also reaffirmed the importance of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, in coordinating the activities of INEC, security agencies and other stakeholders at the federal, state and local government levels.