The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has called for the commission to receive direct funding from the federation account to strengthen its financial independence and improve the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.
Amupitan made the call on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at the public presentation of Shadows: Protest Essays on Africa’s Most Consequential Country (1999-2023), a two-volume book written by Eniola Bello, managing director of ThisDay Newspaper.
The INEC chairman said the current budgetary system undermines the commission’s financial independence and operational effectiveness.
Although the Constitution places INEC on the first-line charge, he said the existing funding arrangement does not provide genuine financial autonomy.
According to Amupitan, INEC’s reliance on the annual appropriation process and the federal government’s envelope budgeting system makes it difficult for the commission to operate independently.
“Experience over the years has shown that as long as INEC is still subject to the normal envelope system and the processes of appropriation, having to go to the national assembly, it is very difficult to operate in such a situation without wasting your time,” Amupitan said.
He explained that INEC’s responsibilities extend beyond conducting presidential and National Assembly elections, noting that the commission also organises governorship and state assembly elections, as well as registers and regulates political parties.
The commission, he added, is also responsible for maintaining the national register of voters used in elections across the country.
Amupitan noted that despite the wide range of its responsibilities, the commission’s funding remains the responsibility of the federal government because its finances are drawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
He said governorship and state assembly elections are more expensive to conduct than presidential and National Assembly elections, making the current funding arrangement unsustainable.
“It is for this reason we feel that although the Constitution tried to place INEC on the first-line charge, it is not strong enough,” the INEC chairman said.
“INEC should come as part of the federation account so that we can have seamless operations and what we call operational efficiency.”
Amupitan also called for further amendments to the Electoral Act to strengthen INEC’s regulatory powers over political parties.
He said the commission should play a more active role in ensuring that political parties comply with their own constitutions, the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act.
According to him, stronger regulatory powers could help reduce the volume of pre-election litigation.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission was considering introducing a mediation mechanism to resolve internal party disputes within three months as an alternative to prolonged court battles.
He further proposed that all disputes involving political parties should be resolved at least one year before a general election to prevent last-minute legal battles from disrupting the electoral process.
The call comes amid recent developments surrounding the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) Bill, which was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in February after its passage by the National Assembly.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja also recently voided sections 77(5), (6), (7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, ruling that the provisions were inconsistent with certain sections of the 1999 Constitution.