Isaac Samuel
With only 21 days left before the statutory deadline for the release of election funds, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to receive money earmarked for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
The concerns over funding are unfolding against the backdrop of INEC’s proposal of N873 billion for the conduct of the 2027 elections.
The development comes as the electoral umpire also revealed plans to conduct mock presidential election exercises to test its technology infrastructure ahead of the 2027 elections, while assuring Nigerians that the controversial glitches that affected the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal during the 2023 presidential election would not be repeated.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, raised the concerns yesterday during a closed-door fireside chat with select journalists organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in partnership with Legis360 in Abuja.
The session, attended by election experts, civil society leaders and journalists, focused on lessons from the just concluded Ekiti governorship election and preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act, 2026, provides that election funds due to the commission for any general election shall be released “not later than six months before the next general election.”
With the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, the six-month deadline falls on July 16, 2026, leaving only 21 days before the legal threshold is reached.
Although the statutory timeline has not yet been breached, Haruna warned that waiting until the last permissible day could significantly constrain preparations for an election expected to be one of the most complex and expensive in Nigeria’s history.
According to the INEC commissioner, INEC is already under pressure to commence procurement and replacement of critical election materials, many of which require long manufacturing and delivery timelines.
He explained that election materials such as ballot boxes, voting cubicles, ballot papers and technology infrastructure are not items that can simply be purchased off the shelf.
He said: “Right now, we still haven’t gotten our funds. And I know what the chairman has been going through, He has been going around to ensure that we get the funding.
“That is one of the good things about the 2022 election. It was one year before the election but the 2026 Act says six months. Though, we’re still within that limit, but even six months is really very tight. This is because these logistics are not available off the shelf.
“If you are going to buy ballot boxes, they will be manufactured, they are not available on the shelf. Voting cubicles, ballot papers and so forth”.
Haruna disclosed that INEC has already begun discussions around the procurement of new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, noting that some of the machines used during previous elections were either damaged, lost or could not be recovered.
“Our Director of ICT just came back from China regarding procurement because not all the BVAS devices used during the last general election were recovered. Orders need to be placed and these things take time,” he said.
Indeed, while the Electoral Act permits election funds to be released as late as six months before polling day, election managers argue that modern elections require significantly longer planning horizons, particularly in a country with over 176,000 polling units and one of the world’s largest electorates.
Nevertheless, the concern echoes arrangements made ahead of the 2023 elections when election funding was made available much earlier, enabling the commission to commence procurement and planning well ahead of schedule.
The commission had in February informed the National Assembly that the N873 billion
proposed expenditure would cover election operations, administrative costs, election technology, capital projects and other miscellaneous requirements associated with organising nationwide polls.
But Haruna argued that public discussions often focus on the headline figure without considering the realities of election administration.
“This N800 billion-plus sounds humongous, but when you calculate the average cost per voter, it is about six dollars per voter, which is reasonable for a country like Nigeria.
“People forget that virtually everything we use is imported. The BVAS devices are imported. A lot of election materials are imported. Exchange rate fluctuations also affect costs,” he said.
According to figures presented earlier by the commission, substantial portions of the proposed budget would go into the production of election materials, voter registration activities, election technology, ballot boxes, voting cubicles and logistics.
Under election operational costs, INEC proposed N318 billion for the production of election materials.
This includes N37 billion for printing ballot papers, N23 billion for printing result sheets, N16 billion for procurement of non-sensitive materials, and another N16 billion for election management materials and forms.
For continuous voter registration (CVR), the commission proposed N29 billion for a voter revalidation exercise to enhance the integrity of the voter register.
On administrative costs, INEC proposed N500 million for an election retreat for staff in preparation for the 2027 polls, and another N500 million for meetings with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
A total of N7 billion was proposed for the storage and logistics of sensitive election materials at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) offices nationwide.
The commission also proposed N1.2 billion for the repair and servicing of 500 operational vehicles at its headquarters and state offices, as well as N390 million for staff recruitment.
Under election technology costs, N1.3 billion was proposed for ICT expenses. This includes N162 million for upgrading the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal and N1.2 billion for the Hybrid e-EC8A and Result Management System.
The commission also proposed N12 billion for printing Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for the CVR exercise.
For capital expenditure, INEC proposed N18 billion for the purchase of ballot boxes and another N18 billion for voting cubicles across the 176,846 polling units nationwide.
The commission also plans to procure walkie-talkie communication devices and install solar lighting in its facilities nationwide for N212 million.
The funding challenge is further complicated by inflationary pressures and foreign exchange volatility, both of which directly affect procurement costs.
Reacting, Executive Director of PAACA, Ezenwa Nwagwu, warned that delayed release of election funds could create avoidable crises capable of undermining electoral integrity.
According to him, late funding often encourages emergency decision-making and weakens compliance with established procedures.
“I always know that politicians like to create emergencies because once you create emergencies, corruption moves closer.
“When institutions are forced to work under pressure, people begin to say ‘just go ahead’. Once that happens, rules can be bypassed and that is dangerous,” Nwagwu said.
He argued that election preparation should not be viewed solely as INEC’s responsibility, insisting that political actors also bear responsibility for creating conditions necessary for credible elections.
Nwagwu noted that substantial procurement activities, including replacement of damaged BVAS devices and other election materials, require considerable lead time.
“There is quite a lot that needs to be done. Once you shorten the preparation period, any shortcomings that emerge later become more likely,” he said.
Haruna, while also cknowledging the persistence of public concerns arising from the 2023 presidential election, particularly the technical difficulties that affected the uploading of results to the IReV portal insisted that the commission has learnt important lessons and is determined to avoid a recurrence.
He revealed that INEC is considering conducting mock presidential election exercises before the 2027 polls specifically to stress-test its systems under conditions that mirror nationwide voting.
“There will be mock exercises. There may even be more than one mock exercise for the presidential election. The commission has not taken a final decision yet, but definitely there will be tests because we do not want a repeat of what happened,” Haruna said.
According to him, one of the key lessons from 2023 was the need to adequately test systems under the volume and pressure associated with a nationwide presidential election.
He noted that the challenge experienced during the presidential poll differed from other elections because of the sheer volume of data and simultaneous transmissions involved.
“The problem happened only during the presidential election. The National Assembly elections did not experience that problem. The governorship elections did not experience that problem. The presidential election is one constituency nationwide and the traffic was enormous,” he said.
Another issue highlighted by the commissioner was what he described as growing judicial interference in election administration through conflicting court orders and last-minute judgments.
According to Haruna, INEC has become increasingly concerned about judicial decisions that alter election arrangements shortly before polls, forcing the commission to make emergency adjustments to logistics, technology and ballot design.
To address the challenge, he disclosed that INEC has scheduled consultations with judicial authorities, beginning with the Supreme Court.
“We have scheduled meetings with the judiciary beginning with the Supreme Court because some of these concerns need to be addressed,” he said.
Haruna cited situations where court orders compelled the commission to alter ballot configurations close to election day, creating significant operational complications.
He argued that election management involves extensive planning, procurement and system configuration processes that require certainty and predictability.
“When courts make orders close to elections, INEC is forced to reconfigure systems, reprint materials and adjust logistics. These things cannot be done overnight,” he said.
The INEC official suggested that some judicial officers may not fully appreciate the operational implications of their decisions on election administration.
While technology and logistics often dominate public discussions, Haruna identified vote-buying as the most serious threat confronting Nigeria’s electoral process.
According to him, improvements in accreditation systems, logistics management and result management have gradually shifted political competition towards influencing voters directly.
“Our greatest area of worry is vote-buying. Unfortunately, it is not something INEC alone can control because politicians are the ones buying votes and some voters are willing to sell their votes,” he said.
Haruna disclosed that the commission has suspended an electoral official allegedly involved in the recent breach of voter data, stressing that INEC acted swiftly once the incident came to light.
According to him, the official, who was attached to one of the commission’s state offices, has been removed from duty pending the outcome of investigations by relevant security and regulatory agencies.
“As soon as the incident happened, we took immediate steps. The officer involved is under suspension and is no longer functioning in that office. We concluded our internal investigation and reported the matter to the relevant authorities,” Haruna said.
He added that the police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and data protection regulators are investigating the matter, while the commission awaits the outcome of their findings before taking further disciplinary action.
Haruna maintained that the incident should not be interpreted as a systemic failure of INEC’s data management architecture, noting that the commission remains committed to strengthening data protection measures and restoring public confidence in the security of voter informati
