INEC Requests ₦873.78 Billion To Conduct 2027 General Elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented a proposed budget of ₦873.78 billion for conducting the 2027 general elections in Nigeria.

This amount covers the Presidential, National Assembly, governorship, and state assembly polls nationwide. 

INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan submitted the figures to a joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on electoral matters in Abuja and  explained that this is a separate election-specific budget, not part of the commission's regular 2026 running costs.

INEC is also asking for ₦171 billion to handle its normal operations in 2026, including any bye-elections or off-cycle polls.

Here's the main breakdown of how the money would be used:

- ₦375.75 billion (Election operations (logistics, staff payments, polling unit running costs)
- ₦209.21 billion ( Election technology (upgrades to biometric systems, result transmission, fixing issues seen in past polls)
- ₦154.90 billion ( Capital costs (buying and maintaining equipment and infrastructure)
- ₦92.31 billion (Administrative costs)
- ₦41.61 billion ( Miscellaneous/other expenses)

₦313 billion was allocated for the 2023 general elections. INEC points to high inflation, the need for stronger tech after previous glitches (like BVAS and IReV problems), and the sheer size of Nigeria's voter population and geography as the main reasons for the increase.