The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it is yet to receive budgetary allocations for the conduct of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, although preparations for the exercise are already underway.
The National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Mohammed Haruna, made this known during a cross-sectoral interactive session in Abuja organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in partnership with Legis360.
The forum, which brought together political parties, civil society organisations and electoral officials, reviewed the recently concluded Ekiti State governorship election and examined preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Haruna explained that while the commission is still awaiting the release of funds, the delay remains within the timeframe permitted by the Electoral Act 2026, which requires election funds to be released no later than six months before a general election.
INEC had proposed a budget of ₦873.78 billion for the 2027 elections, covering election operations, technology deployment and capital expenditure.
Despite the pending release of funds, Haruna revealed that the commission has already begun planning for the replacement of election equipment, including damaged, lost and unrecovered Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices used during previous elections.
“Our Director of ICT recently returned from China regarding procurement because not all the BVAS devices used during the last general elections were recovered. Orders have to be placed, and these things require time,” he said.
He also disclosed that INEC intends to conduct mock presidential election exercises to test its technology infrastructure and prevent a recurrence of the technical challenges experienced with the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal during the 2023 presidential election.
Addressing concerns over the proposed election budget, Haruna argued that the overall figure should be viewed in context.
He noted that although the proposed budget exceeds ₦800 billion, the average cost amounts to about six dollars per registered voter, which he described as reasonable compared to international standards. He added that the heavy reliance on imported election materials, including BVAS devices, as well as exchange rate fluctuations, significantly influences election costs.
Haruna also identified conflicting court orders as one of the commission’s major operational challenges.
He cited last-minute court directives issued shortly before the Ekiti governorship election, which required INEC to make urgent changes to its software and election materials by including additional political parties.
According to him, such decisions leave little time for comprehensive system testing, even though the commission still strives to achieve substantial compliance with electoral guidelines.
On the issue of data security, Haruna assured Nigerians that INEC maintains strict internal data protection measures.
He disclosed that an electoral officer who deliberately leaked sensitive information for personal reasons has been suspended, while the matter has been referred to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). Criminal investigations by the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) are also ongoing.
Reviewing the Ekiti governorship election, the national commissioner described the commission’s logistics and technology deployment as largely successful.
He said BVAS recorded a 98 per cent successful accreditation rate, with only minor technical issues involving the biometric capture of some elderly voters, which were promptly resolved by technical support teams.
However, Haruna expressed concern over the persistence of vote-buying, noting that some voters openly queued to receive financial inducements before casting their ballots.
Speaking after the event, PAACA Executive Director, Ezenwa Nwagwu, urged the Federal Government to release election funds early to avoid last-minute procurement and planning.
He warned that delayed funding often creates emergency situations that increase the risk of corruption and undermine the credibility of the electoral process.
Nwagwu also stressed that INEC requires sufficient time to procure election equipment, especially replacement BVAS devices damaged during previous election cycles, including those affected by flooding in Edo State.
He further called on civil society organisations and Nigerians to hold political actors accountable whenever delays in funding affect election preparations, rather than placing all responsibility on the electoral commission.
The stakeholders also recommended that INEC institutionalise continuous training programmes for ad hoc election officials, particularly members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), ahead of future elections.