The Independent National Electoral Commission says it has yet to receive budgetary allocations for the 2027 general elections.
INEC National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja.
Haruna spoke at a cross-sectoral interactive session organised by Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa in partnership with Legis360.
The fireside chat, attended by political parties, civil society organisations and INEC officials, focused on the recently concluded Ekiti governorship election and preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Haruna said that although the commission was still awaiting the release of funds, preparations for the polls were already underway.
INEC had proposed a budget of ₦873.78 billion for the 2027 elections, with significant allocations for election operations, technology and capital expenditure.
The national commissioner explained that the delay remained within the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, which stipulates that election funds should be released to the commission not later than six months before a general election.
He, however, disclosed that INEC had already begun arrangements to procure new election materials, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices and other equipment that were damaged, lost or not recovered after previous elections.
“Our director of ICT just returned from China regarding procurement because not all the BVAS devices used during the last general elections were recovered. Orders need to be placed, and these things take time,” he said.
Haruna also revealed that the commission planned to conduct mock presidential election exercises to test its technology deployment.
According to him, the exercise is intended to prevent a repeat of the technical issues that affected the INEC Result Viewing portal during the 2023 presidential election.
Responding to concerns about the cost of elections, Haruna urged Nigerians to consider the realities of election administration rather than focusing solely on the overall figure.
“This N800 billion plus sounds humongous, but when you calculate the average cost per voter, it is about six dollars, which is reasonable for a country such as Nigeria.
“People forget that virtually everything we use is imported. The BVAS devices and a lot of other election materials are imported. Exchange rate fluctuations also affect these costs,” he said.
On conflicting court rulings, Haruna described the trend as a major challenge for the commission.
He cited last-minute court orders issued 24 to 48 hours before the Ekiti governorship election, which affected administrative processes and the printing of result sheets.
“When a court gives a last-minute injunction to include parties like the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), we are forced to reconfigure the software and update physical materials instantly.
“This leaves very little room to test the systems extensively, though we still manage to achieve substantial compliance with the rules,” Haruna said.
He noted that the commission was engaging relevant judicial authorities on the issue, similar to efforts undertaken under the leadership of former INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu before the 2023 elections.
Addressing concerns over an alleged data breach, Haruna assured Nigerians that INEC maintains strict data protection protocols.
He disclosed that an electoral officer accused of leaking sensitive information as part of a personal vendetta against a politician had been suspended.
According to him, the matter has been referred to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, while the police and the Department of State Services continue their investigations.
Reviewing the Ekiti governorship election, Haruna said BVAS machines recorded a 98 per cent successful accreditation rate despite minor issues involving biometric verification for elderly voters.
He added that INEC technical teams promptly resolved the challenges.
The commissioner, however, expressed concern over the persistence of vote-buying, saying some voters openly queued for financial inducements before casting their ballots.
Speaking with journalists, PAACA Executive Director Ezenwa Nwagwu urged the Federal Government and political stakeholders to release election funds early.
Nwagwu warned that delayed funding encourages an emergency approach that could create opportunities for corruption.
“Whenever you create an emergency situation, corruption is very close behind.
“When things are not done when they should be done, people resort to bypassing rules. That is a situation politicians like to exploit to diminish the credibility of the process,” Nwagwu said.
He stressed that early funding was crucial because of international procurement timelines and the need to replace critical equipment, including BVAS devices damaged by flooding in Edo State.
Nwagwu also urged civil society groups and the public to hold political actors accountable for systemic bottlenecks instead of blaming INEC alone.
“Everybody should be interested in creating an enabling environment for INEC to discharge its responsibility effectively.
“Once you short-circuit that ability by arm-twisting them in terms of resources, we hold INEC to the fire whenever there is a shortfall, but we don’t go near the politicians who stage-managed the challenges,” he said.
On conflicting court judgments, Nwagwu argued that the problem required collective action and could be reduced if citizens avoided filing unnecessary cases.
“We can emulate the American system that resolves certain things administratively without going to court. But here, everything goes to court, even up to the Supreme Court,” he said.
He explained that the meeting was organised to assess the Ekiti election, identify challenges and strengthen preparations for 2027.
Other stakeholders at the event urged INEC to establish long-term training programmes for ad hoc personnel, particularly members of the National Youth Service Corps.