INEC Needs N873.7bn to Deliver Credible 2027 Elections, Amupitan Tells N’Assembly

• Seeks N162.5bn IReV upgrade, massive ICT overhaul   

•Explains why INEC can’t be held responsible for network challenges, proposes N32bn for corps members, adhoc staff  

•Commission plans special cubicle to tackle vote trading  

•Lalong: Electoral Act summit starts Monday

Sunday Aborisade and Juliet Akoje in Abuja

Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, yesterday, declared that the commission would require a total of N873.78 billion to conduct the 2027 general election.

Amupitan warned that any attempt to subject the electoral body to rigid funding caps could undermine critical technological reforms and expose the country to avoidable embarrassment.

Addressing the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Electoral Matters, during the defence of INEC’s 2026 and 2027 budget proposals, Amupitan said credible elections came at a cost and must be funded early to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy.

He explained that the proposal was submitted in line with the Electoral Act 2022, which mandated that election funds be appropriated at least 360 days before the polls to forestall last-minute crises.

Breaking down the figures, the INEC chairman said the proposed N873,778,401,602.08 was structured under five broad components: Election Operations Cost of N375.75 billion; Election Administrative Cost of N92.31 billion; Election Technology Cost of N209.21 billion; Election Capital Cost of N154.90 billion; and a miscellaneous provision of N41.01 billion.

Amupitan stated, “If you want to predict the future, it is necessary to create it early. Preparation for the 2027 election has already started.

“The wisdom of the National Assembly in making provision 360 days before the election date is to ensure that we do not run into avoidable crises.”

A major highlight of the proposal was a sweeping technological overhaul designed to strengthen electronic transmission of results, improve voter accreditation, secure electoral data, and eliminate system failures that had stalked past elections.

At the centre of the ICT upgrade was N162.5 billion earmarked for the enhancement of the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal — the digital platform that provides public access to polling unit results in real time.

Amupitan said the upgrade would reinforce transparency, improve server capacity, and prevent glitches experienced during previous polls.

INEC also proposed N1.215 billion for a Hybrid e-EC8A and Result Management System to strengthen electronic result processing and reduce human interference.

In addition, N3.577 billion was budgeted for deployment of ICT technical support staff to Local Government Areas and Registration Areas during elections.

Other ICT-related provisions included N598.5 million for renewal and maintenance of cloud infrastructure; N189.6 million for upgraded internet bandwidth across headquarters and state offices.

The commission further proposed N242.6 million for nationwide configuration of accreditation devices; N194 million for quality assurance of voter accreditation machines; N400 million for cyber protection of public portals; and N5.163 billion for other ICT expenses.

The electoral umpire equally planned to upgrade its national and state data centres, with N729 million allocated for alternative power systems and server enhancements to eliminate downtime during critical electoral operations.

For the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC proposed N163.2 billion for additional devices, N48.3 million for application upgrades, N69.1 million for backend improvements, and N2.148 billion for device security.

It further budgeted N4.542 billion for inbuilt power banks and N600 million for additional external power banks to prevent device failure on election day.

Responding to lawmakers’ concerns about INEC’s capacity to fully implement electronic transmission nationwide, Amupitan admitted that establishing independent infrastructure would be costly but necessary if the commission must be held fully accountable.

He stated, “We do not even have a network of our own. Assuming we control the network system and are not dictated to by primary and secondary providers, then INEC should be held 100 per cent responsible for whatever happens.

“But the cost of establishing such infrastructure is enormous.”

He said criticised the “envelope budgeting system” imposed by the Ministry of Finance, stating that it constrains the commission’s operational independence.

According to Amupitan, “The envelope system is not good for the running of INEC if INEC must be truly independent. The Ministry of Finance does not even give you room for negotiation.

“The joint committee should do all it can to ensure that we get what we proposed.”

Echoing the warning, Senator Adams Oshiomhole cautioned against extending rigid funding caps to INEC, recalling that past funding challenges had led to postponement of elections and national embarrassment.

Oshiomhole described election management as a time-sensitive national assignment that required flexibility and full financial backing.

Beyond technology, INEC also proposed N32 billion to cater for allowances of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and other ad hoc staff, who would serve as presiding officers and polling officials.

Amupitan disclosed that each corps member and ad hoc staff was proposed to receive N127,000 for election duties covering five days of training and two days of polling.

The package included N50,000 for election duty, N5,000 training allowance, and about N9,500 for feeding, among other components.

With about 450,000 corps members projected to be engaged nationwide, the proposal translated to roughly N32 billion.

Lawmakers acknowledged that the integrity of elections began at the polling units.

Chairman of House Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Adebayo Balogun, said, “The pyramids of elections are the polling units and the masters of the polling units are the presiding officers,” warning that poorly remunerated officials can be vulnerable to inducement.

Amupitan agreed, stating that a substantial portion of election expenditure goes into honoraria for ad hoc staff.

He said, “If they must perform their duties creditably and with integrity, we cannot lose our eyes to such demands.”

In a move aimed at curbing vote buying, the commission also planned to introduce redesigned voting cubicles.

Amupitan explained that the current cubicles were too small and required voters to step out after marking their ballots to drop them in the ballot box, thereby exposing them to vote confirmation schemes.

He said, “If you expand them to accommodate the ballot box inside, voters will not need to step out to drop their ballots. That reduces the possibility of vote confirmation and vote buying.”

INEC clarified that although Nigeria had 176,846 polling units, it planned to procure about 130,000 new ballot boxes because an audit showed many existing ones were serviceable.

On voter register management, the commission budgeted N28.908 billion for nationwide voter revalidation, N3.515 billion for display of the register, N10.213 billion for printing, N39.5 million for publication to political parties, and N12.292 billion for printing of Permanent Voter Cards under the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

Lawmakers pressed INEC on funding provisions for by-elections and off-cycle governorship polls scheduled for 2026, cautioning against shifting capital expenditure excessively to 2027.

Amupitan acknowledged the strain posed by frequent by-elections, often triggered by deaths of lawmakers, saying the commission must always make contingency provisions.

Chairman of Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Senator Simon Lalong, assured INEC of legislative support and announced that the conference committee on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill would commence harmonisation of Senate and House versions on Monday.

“INEC is now the main institution between now and next year. It is going to get tougher. We will continue to give you all necessary support legislatively, but Nigerians are watching,” Lalong said.

The joint committee also considered a motion urging unconditional implementation of INEC’s first-line charge status to guarantee financial autonomy.