The 2027 general elections could face security and logistics challenges if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not receive adequate funding, the commission’s Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has warned.
Amupitan said adequate funding was necessary to provide the security and logistics required for the conduct of the elections, which will cover presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly polls.
He spoke 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.”
He noted that INEC’s funding is constitutionally provided as a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, but the scale of the commission’s responsibilities requires sustained financial support.
He said the electoral umpire’s responsibilities extend beyond conducting elections to voter registration and the registration of political parties. The commission also has statutory powers to request the 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.”
Amupitan said voter registration remained the foundation of credible elections, warning that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could undermine the inclusiveness of the electoral process.
He said election spending, including security-related costs, should be treated as a collective national responsibility because INEC conducts elections affecting the three tiers of government.
The chairman said funding was particularly needed to deploy personnel and electoral materials to local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units.
He said adequate security alone would not guarantee a smooth election if INEC lacked the logistics required to move personnel and materials across the country.
Amupitan said security and logistics had been priorities under his leadership, adding that INEC was working with government and security agencies to address operational challenges ahead of the 2027 elections.
He also pointed to the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) as a key mechanism for coordinating election security among INEC, security agencies and relevant government institutions.
According to him, ICCES was established as a coordinating arrangement after the 2011 general elections, following concerns over post-election violence, and has since developed into a structured system operating at federal, state and local government levels.
He said the Inspector-General of Police participates at the national level, commissioners of police at the state level and divisional police leadership at the local level.
Amupitan said stronger coordination among the agencies would be required ahead of 2027, with the police remaining the lead agency for election security.
He cited recent off-cycle elections as evidence of the importance of security coordination, saying security agencies had intervened in incidents that could otherwise have disrupted the electoral process.
The INEC chairman said lessons from those elections should inform preparations for 2027, particularly in intelligence gathering, logistics and coordination among security agencies.
He said Nigerians expected an electoral system that met high standards but must also recognise that achieving such standards required adequate resources.
“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 said.
He urged the relevant authorities to provide the resources required by INEC and security agencies to carry out their respective responsibilities.
Amupitan also called on senior police officers to maintain professional neutrality, gather intelligence proactively and coordinate with other agencies to protect the integrity of the ballot.
President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, also urged the leadership and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force to support the INEC chairman in carrying out his mandate.
She said policing support was necessary to safeguard the electoral process and facilitate free, fair, credible and transparent elections.
