INEC Needs N873.7bn to Deliver Credible 2027 Poll, Amupitan Tells N’Assembly

*Seeks N162.5bn IReV upgrade, massive ICT overhaul ahead of 2027 polls

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, on Thursday declared that the commission would require a total of N873.78 billion to conduct the 2027 general election, warning that any attempt to subject the electoral body to rigid funding caps could undermine critical technological reforms and expose the nation to avoidable embarrassment.

Addressing the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Electoral Matters during the defence of the commission’s 2026 and 2027 budget proposals, Amupitan said credible elections come at a cost and must be funded early to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy.

He explained that the proposal was submitted in line with the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates that election funds be appropriated at least 360 days before the polls to forestall last-minute crises.

Breaking down the figures, the INEC chairman said the proposed N873,778,401,602.08 is structured under five broad components: Election Operations Cost of N375.75 billion; Election Administrative Cost of N92.31 billion; Election Technology Cost of N209.21 billion; Election Capital Cost of N154.90 billion; and a miscellaneous provision of N41.01 billion.

Amupitan said, “If you want to predict the future, it is necessary to create it early. Preparation for the 2027 election has already started.

“The wisdom of the National Assembly in making provision 360 days before the election date is to ensure that we do not run into avoidable crises.”

A major highlight of the proposal is a sweeping technological overhaul designed to strengthen electronic transmission of results, improve voter accreditation, secure electoral data and eliminate system failures that have trailed past elections.

At the centre of the ICT upgrade is N162.5 billion earmarked for the enhancement of the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal — the digital platform that provides public access to polling unit results in real time.

The commission said the upgrade would reinforce transparency, improve server capacity and prevent glitches experienced during previous polls.

INEC is also proposing N1.215 billion for a Hybrid e-EC8A and Result Management System to strengthen electronic result processing and reduce human interference.

In addition, N3.577 billion is budgeted for deployment of ICT technical support staff to Local Government Areas and Registration Areas during elections.

Other ICT-related provisions include N598.5 million for renewal and maintenance of cloud infrastructure; N189.6 million for upgraded internet bandwidth across headquarters and state offices.

The commission also proposed N242.6 million for nationwide configuration of accreditation devices; N194 million for quality assurance of voter accreditation machines; N400 million for cyber protection of public portals; and N5.163 billion for other ICT expenses.

The electoral umpire also plans to upgrade its national and state data centres, with N729 million allocated for alternative power systems and server enhancements to eliminate downtime during critical electoral operations.

For the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC proposed N163.2 billion for additional devices, N48.3 million for application upgrades, N69.1 million for backend improvements, and N2.148 billion for device security.

It further budgeted N4.542 billion for inbuilt power banks and N600 million for additional external power banks to prevent device failure on election day.