2027: INEC Seeks Adequate Funding For Election Security, Logistics

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said adequate funding of elections is critical to providing the security and logistics required for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued  by the Chief Press Secretary to the chairman, Adedayo Oketola , Amupitan stated this on  Wednesday in Owerri, Imo State, while delivering a goodwill message at the sixth edition of the Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, themed: “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections.”

The INEC chairman said although the commission’s funding was constitutionally provided as a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the scale of its responsibilities required sustained financial support to enable it conduct elections effectively.

He said INEC was responsible not only for presidential and National Assembly elections, but also for governorship and state House of Assembly elections, voter registration and registration of political parties.

Amupitan added that the commission had statutory powers to request the deployment of security agencies for elections and voter registration, making security an integral part of the electoral process.

“Sometimes, it is not what you would like to do that you are able to do because of financial constraints. The system does make allocations of what is available and what is affordable at a particular time for the expenses and appropriation of the agencies, including the police and also including INEC,” he said.

The INEC chairman stressed that voter registration remained the foundation of credible elections, warning that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could undermine the inclusiveness of the electoral process.

He said because INEC conducts elections affecting the three tiers of government, expenditure on elections, including security-related costs, should be regarded as a collective national responsibility.

According to him, adequate funding was particularly important for the deployment of personnel and electoral materials to local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units.

Amupitan noted that even where security agencies succeeded in maintaining peace, inadequate logistics could still undermine the conduct of an election.

He said INEC had made security and logistics priorities under his leadership and was working with government and security agencies to ensure that operational challenges did not affect preparations for the 2027 polls.

The chairman also highlighted the role of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), describing it as a platform through which INEC and relevant security and government agencies coordinate election security.

He said ICCES, which emerged as a coordinating arrangement after the 2011 general elections following concerns over post-election violence, had evolved into a structured mechanism for election security coordination.

According to him, ICCES now operates at federal, state and local government levels, with the Inspector-General of Police participating at the national level, commissioners of police at the state level and divisional police leadership represented at the local level.

Amupitan said stronger coordination among security agencies would be necessary ahead of the 2027 elections, stressing that the police remained the lead agency in election security.

He also cited recent off-cycle elections as evidence of the importance of adequate security and coordination, recalling that security agencies had helped resolve incidents that could otherwise have disrupted the electoral process.

The INEC chairman said lessons from recent elections should be used to strengthen preparations for the 2027 general elections, particularly in intelligence gathering, logistics and inter-agency coordination.

He said Nigerians expected a highly effective electoral system but must also recognise that achieving such standards required adequate resources.

“In Nigeria, we want the best. We want our electoral system to be 100 per cent. But sometimes we don’t ask ourselves the question: if we want the nation to be perfect, there must be a cost for it,” Amupitan said.

He urged relevant authorities to provide the resources required by security agencies and INEC to perform their respective responsibilities effectively.

Reaffirming the commission’s commitment to deepening operational synergy through ICCES, Amupitan expressed optimism that the Owerri retreat would produce an actionable and forward-looking roadmap ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He charged senior police managers to sustain professional neutrality, proactive intelligence gathering and seamless inter-agency coordination to protect the integrity of the ballot.

Also speaking at the event, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, charged the leadership and operational personnel of the Nigeria Police Force to extend their support and synergy to the INEC chairman in fulfilling his mandate.

The NBA president said robust policing support remained vital to safeguarding the electoral process and ensuring free, fair, credible and transparent elections across the country.