The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it has not yet received the budgetary allocation required to begin full preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The commission’s National Commissioner for Voter Education and Publicity, Malam Mohammed Haruna, made the disclosure during a cross-sectoral interactive session in Abuja. The event was organized by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in collaboration with Legis360.
The “fireside chat” brought together representatives of political parties, civil society organisations (CSOs), and electoral officials to review the recently concluded Ekiti State governorship election and discuss INEC’s preparations for the 2027 polls.
Haruna explained that although the commission is still awaiting the release of election funds, preliminary preparations have already commenced. INEC has proposed a budget of N873.78 billion for the 2027 elections, with the bulk of the funds earmarked for election logistics, technology deployment, and capital projects.
He noted that the delay does not violate the Electoral Act, 2026, which stipulates that funding for a general election must be released to INEC no later than six months before the election.
Despite the pending allocation, Haruna said the commission has begun making arrangements to procure new election equipment, including replacing Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices that were lost, damaged, or not recovered after previous elections.
“Our Director of ICT has just returned from China over the procurement process because not all the BVAS devices used in the last general elections were recovered,” he said. “Orders have to be placed early because the procurement process takes time.”
Haruna also revealed that INEC plans to conduct mock presidential election simulations before 2027 to thoroughly test its technology and prevent a repeat of the technical issues that affected the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal during the 2023 presidential election.
Responding to concerns over the high cost of conducting elections in Nigeria, Haruna argued that the expenditure should be assessed on a per-voter basis rather than by the total budget.
“The N800 billion-plus figure may appear huge, but when you break it down, the average cost per voter is about six dollars, which is reasonable for a country like Nigeria,” he said. “Most of the equipment we use, including BVAS machines, is imported, and fluctuations in the exchange rate significantly increase procurement costs.”
Haruna also identified conflicting court rulings and last-minute judicial orders as major operational challenges for the commission. He recalled that injunctions issued just 24 to 48 hours before the Ekiti governorship election disrupted preparations, forcing INEC to make urgent adjustments to both its technology and election materials.
“When courts issue late orders directing us to include parties such as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), we have to immediately reconfigure our software and update printed materials,” he said. “That leaves little time for comprehensive testing, although we still strive to achieve substantial compliance with the electoral guidelines.”
