The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been allocated a staggering N1,013,778,401,602 in the 2026 budget presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The allocation, one of the largest in the commission’s history, comes as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections.

This was contained in the details of the 2026 Appropriation Bill released by the Budget Office of the Federation.

President Tinubu had presented a 2026 Appropriation Bill of N58.18 trillion to the National Assembly.

The proposed budget, tagged “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” projected total revenue of N34.33 trillion and total expenditure of N58.18 trillion, including N15.52 trillion for debt service.

While INEC has consistently cited the need for adequate funding to ensure credible elections, observers noted that the new allocation will be tested by logistical demands, including procurement of technology, voter education, and nationwide staff deployment.

Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022 requires election funds to be released at least one year before the polls.

“The election funds due to the Commission for any general elections are to be released to the Commission not later than one year before the next general election”, the section said.

In 2025, the National Assembly approved an upward revision of the INEC budget, increasing it to N140 billion from the N40 billion initially proposed by the Federal Government.

The commission spent N313.4 billion for the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

But the commission, in its 2023 General Election Report, said that out of the N355 billion approved for the conduct of the elections, only N313.4 billion had been released as of September 2023.

For the 2019 election, the National Assembly approved N143 billion for the commission.

Furthermore, checks revealed that Nigeria spent about N108.8 billion to conduct the 2015 general elections.

The Guardian reports that Professor Bolade Eyinla, immediate past Chief Technical Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had in October projected that the commission may spend about N870 billion ($600 million) to conduct the 2027 general election.

Speaking at a Yiaga Africa 2027 Elections Scenarios and Election Manipulation Risk Index (EMRI) Retreat in Abuja, Eyinla noted that Nigeria’s elections are among the largest peacetime civil operations, requiring significant financial, technological, and logistical resources.

According to him, the projected costs reflect the demands of a country with over 93 million registered voters, 176,846 polling units, and 1,558 electoral constituencies.

Eyinla said the projected amount is informed by previous election costs, saying that the 2015 elections cost N109 billion (US$662 million), the 2019 elections N189 billion (US$619 million) and N355 billion (US$628 million) was spent on the 2023 elections.

According to him, after accounting for inflation, currency fluctuations, and operational expansion, the N870 billion projection for 2027 is realistic.

He added that on a per-voter basis, the cost is approximately US$6.72 per voter, which is within international norms for transitional democracies.

His words: “In comparative terms, the cost of conducting a general election in Nigeria is among the lowest in Africa. For instance, in Kenya, the cost per voter was US$25.9 in 2017 and US$14.9 in 2022; in Ghana, US$13.1 in 2016 and US$7.7 in 2020; in South Africa, US$5.1 in 2019 and US$7.1 in 2024; in the Democratic Republic of Congo, US$22 and US$14.37 per voter in 2023; and in Liberia, US$22 per voter in 2023. This comparison is no less striking with India, the world’s largest democracy, where the cost was US$8.5 per voter in 2019.

“Based on the prevailing US$ to Naira exchange rate at the time of each election, the cost of Nigeria’s previous three general elections was: N109 billion (US$662 million) in 2015, N189 billion (US$619 million) in 2019, and N355 billion (US$628 million) in 2023.

“Considering the current state of the economy, inflation, and the consumer price index from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), it is estimated that conducting the 2027 general election will require about US$600 million (approximately N870 billion), assuming INEC manages its resources prudently. (The Guardian)

Update news