Security in 2027 election will be determined by adequate funding, says INEC chairman

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

Prof 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 was accompanied by National Commissioners Dr Ken Nnamdi Ukeagu and Rear Admiral Jamila Abubakar Malaga (Rtd), OFR, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Imo State, Chukwuemeka C Ibeziakor, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Chairman, Mr Adedayo Oketola, and other aides including Mustapha Muhammad Dogondaji, Personal Assistant; Ahmad Yusuf, Executive Assistant (Finance); and Barr Ezeh N Emmanuel, Head of Legal, INEC Imo State.

Amupitan said though INEC’s funding is constitutionally provided as a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the scale of its responsibilities requires sustained financial support.

He explained that INEC is responsible not only for presidential and National Assembly elections, but also for governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, voter registration and registration of political parties. The Commission also has statutory powers to request deployment of security agencies for elections and voter registration.

“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 chairman stressed that voter registration remains the foundation of credible elections, warning that an inaccurate or outdated register could undermine inclusiveness.

He argued that because INEC conducts elections affecting the three tiers of government, election expenditure, including security costs, should be treated as a collective national responsibility.

According to him, adequate funding is particularly important for deployment of personnel and materials to local governments, wards, registration areas and polling units, noting that even where security agencies succeed in maintaining peace, poor logistics could still undermine an election.

Amupitan said under his leadership, security and logistics have been made top priorities, and that the Commission is working with government and security agencies to ensure operational challenges do not jeopardise the 2027 polls.

He highlighted the role of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, describing it as a platform that brings INEC and security agencies together to coordinate election security. He said the committee, which emerged after the 2011 general elections following post-election violence, now operates at federal, state and local government levels.

He noted that stronger coordination will be required ahead of 2027, with the police remaining the lead agency in election security.

Amupitan cited recent off-cycle elections as evidence of the importance of security coordination, recalling that timely intervention by security agencies helped resolve incidents that could have disrupted the process.

“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,” he added.

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