INEC Proposes ₦873 Billion for 2027 Elections

The Independent National Electoral Cjommission (INEC) has proposed a budget of ₦873.778 billion to facilitate the 2027 general elections. The INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, tendered the bill on Thursday during a budget defense session with the National Assembly.

The hearing was co-chaired by Senator Simon Bako Lalong, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, and Honourable Adebayo Balogun of the House of Representatives.

​Professor Amupitan explained that preparations for the 2027 polls have already begun in line with legal requirements. These rules mandate that election funding must be approved at least 360 days before the set date. He emphasized that early fiscal planning is essential to enable the smooth execution of the nationwide elections and to avoid the logistical bottlenecks seen in the past.

​Furthermore, he pointed out that this ₦873 billion budget for 2027 does not include the ₦171 billion operational budget proposed for 2026. That 2026 fund is specifically earmarked for "off-cycle" elections and various by-elections across the country. 

The Chairman added that the current budget does not account for any potential allowance increases for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members who will be engaged as ad-hoc staff during the voting process.

The INEC chairman noted that the budget was prepared in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022. he went on to give a detailed breakdown of the estimate showing a huge chunk of ₦375.75 billion for election operations and ₦92.31 billion for administrative costs. Another ₦209.21 billion is dedicated to election technology; a critical area for transparency. While ₦154.93 billion goes toward capital expenditure.

​This brings the subtotal of the four main components to ₦832.20 billion. An additional ₦41.58 billion has been set aside for other related expenses, pushing the final grand total to ₦873.78 billion. Professor Amupitan acknowledged that the capital allocation for the 2027 budget is higher than in previous cycles. He explained that several critical capital items were not sufficiently addressed in previous appropriations, and by integrating these costs now, the commission aims to fully modernize its operations.

​He further clarified that a comprehensive breakdown of the proposed expenditure detailing every specific activity and individual cost item is contained within the official document submitted to the National Assembly. This level of transparency is intended to facilitate a thorough legislative review of the commission’s strategic roadmap for 2027.

The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the Commission’s annual budget.

The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32 billion to increase allowances for Corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.