By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is yet to receive budgetary allocations for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.

The INEC National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Malam Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja.

Haruna spoke at a cross-sectorial interactive session organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in partnership with Legis360.

The “fireside chat”, which brought together political parties, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and INEC officials, focused on the just-concluded Ekiti governorship election and INEC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.

Haruna said although the commission was still awaiting the release of the funds, preparations for the conduct of successful 2027 elections were ongoing.

INEC had proposed a total budget of N873.78 billion for the 2027 general elections, with substantial allocations dedicated to election operations, technology and capital expenditure.

The national commissioner explained that the development was still within the time limit as the Electoral Act, 2026, which provides that election funds due to the commission for any general election shall be released “not later than six months before the next general election.”

He, however, said that the commission was already making arrangements for the procurement of new election materials, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other machines that were damaged, lost or unrecovered during 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 disclosed that the commission was planning to conduct mock presidential election exercises to test-run its technology deployment.

This, according to him is part of efforts to avoid a repeat of the technical glitches that affected the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal during the 2023 presidential election.

Responding to concerns over the high cost of conducting elections in Nigeria, Haruna advised citizens to look beyond the total figure and consider the realities of election administration, noting that the cost of elections in Nigeria remained relatively low when compared to other nations.

“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 judgments and orders, Haruna said that the trend remained a major challenge to the commission’s operations.

He cited how last-minute court orders, received between 24 and 48 hours before the Ekiti governorship election, disrupted administrative workflows and the production of election result sheets.

“When a court gives a last-minute injunction to include parties like the Nigeria 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, however, said that the commission was taking steps to engage relevant judicial authorities on the issue, noting that a similar approach was adopted by the immediate past leadership of the commission under Prof. Mahmood Yakubu ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Addressing recent concerns over a viral report of a data breach, the national commissioner assured Nigerians that INEC maintains strict data protection and internal accountability protocols.

He disclosed that an electoral officer who intentionally leaked sensitive data as part of a personal vendetta against a political actor had been suspended.

According to him, the matter has been reported to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), while waiting for the Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) finalise criminal investigations.

Reviewing the Ekiti governorship election, Haruna described INEC’s field logistics and technology performance as highly successful, noting that the BVAS machines performed optimally with a 98 per cent successful accreditation rate.

He said while there were minor technical hitches, particularly with the biometric capture of elderly voters due to aging physical features, INEC’s technical support teams resolved them promptly.

He, however, lamented that vote buying remained a worrisome trend, noting that voters were observed openly waiting in lines for financial inducements from politicians before casting their ballots.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen, the Executive Director of PAACA, Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, called on the Federal Government and key political stakeholders to ensure early release of funds to INEC.

Nwagwu warned that delaying election funds forces a dangerous, emergency “fire brigade” approach to national planning.

“Whenever you create an emergency situation, corruption is very close behind.

“When things are not done when they should be done, people resort to by-passing rules. That is a situation politicians like to exploit to diminish the credibility of the process,” Nwagwu said.

He explained that early financial disbursements were critical because INEC faced tight international procurement timelines.

He noted that the commission urgently needed to replace essential hardware, including BVAS devices damaged by flooding in Edo during previous election cycles.

Nwagwu urged CSOs and the public to keep the spotlight on political actors who orchestrate systemic bottlenecks, rather than blaming the electoral umpire alone when logistical shortfalls occur.

“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 said the issue could be addressed by all stakeholders, including citizens and not just the judiciary.

He argued that conflicting orders would not arise if citizens desisted from taking frivolous matters to court, knowing that some of them are unnecessary.

“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.

Nwagwu noted that the conversation was aimed at reviewing the aftermath of the Ekiti election to identify successes, challenges and areas requiring improvement ahead of 2027.

Other stakeholders at the meeting called on INEC to institutionalise long-term training modules for ad hoc staff, particularly members of the National Youth Service Corps. (NAN)

Update news