The Independent National Electoral Commission has informed the National Assembly that it will require N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections.
The commission also proposed N171bn as its budget for operations in the 2026 fiscal year.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, disclosed this during the presentation of the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and projected expenditure for the 2027 polls before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
He explained that the N873.78bn estimate covers the full conduct of the 2027 general elections. He added that the N171bn request for 2026 would fund routine responsibilities. These include by-elections and off-season governorship polls.
The proposed election budget shows a sharp rise compared to the N313.4bn released by the Federal Government for the 2023 general elections.
Providing a breakdown of the projection, Amupitan said, “N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses.”
He noted that the estimate was prepared “in line 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.”
On the 2026 proposal, the INEC chairman said the Ministry of Finance issued a budget envelope of N140bn. He, however, stated that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”
According to him, the 2026 estimate includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital projects.
Amupitan also revealed that the election budget did not accommodate a fresh request by the National Youth Service Corps seeking an upward review of allowances for corps members engaged as ad hoc election staff.
During the session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole argued that external bodies should not impose a budgeting template on INEC due to the sensitive nature of its mandate. He called for the removal of the envelope budgeting framework and urged lawmakers to support the commission’s financial request.
Similarly, a member of the House of Representatives, Billy Osawaru, advocated placing INEC’s funding on first-line charge in line with constitutional provisions. He said this would guarantee early release of funds for election planning.
The joint committee later approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the commission’s annual budget. It also pledged to review the NYSC’s request estimated at about N32bn to raise corps members’ election allowance to N125,000.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Simon Lalong, assured that the National Assembly would collaborate closely with the electoral body to ensure successful conduct of the 2027 polls.
Also speaking, Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, promised legislative backing but cautioned the commission against making commitments it might not fulfil.
“IReV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.
