By Opeyemi Adelakun
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called for sustained funding ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that financial constraints could affect the security and logistics required for the polls.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, made the call on Wednesday in Owerri, Imo State, while delivering a goodwill message at the sixth Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers.
The conference, organised around the theme, “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections”, focused on preparations for election security ahead of the 2027 polls.
Amupitan said although INEC’s funding is provided as a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the scale of its responsibilities requires continuous financial support.
He noted that the commission is responsible for presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly elections, in addition to voter registration and political party registration.
According to him, INEC also has statutory powers to request the deployment of security agencies for elections and voter registration, making adequate resources essential to the electoral process.
“Sometimes, it is not what you would like to do that you are able to do because of financial constraints,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chairman said funding was particularly important for deploying electoral personnel and materials to local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units.
He warned that even if security agencies successfully maintain peace, inadequate logistics could still disrupt the effective conduct of elections.
Amupitan also identified voter registration as a foundation of credible elections, cautioning that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could undermine the inclusiveness of the electoral process.
He said INEC had placed security and logistics among its priorities and was working with government and security agencies to address operational challenges before the 2027 elections.
The chairman further highlighted the role of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), which brings INEC, security agencies and other relevant government institutions together to coordinate election security.
He said stronger inter-agency cooperation would be required ahead of the 2027 polls, with the Nigeria Police Force remaining the lead agency for election security.
Amupitan urged senior police officers to maintain professional neutrality, strengthen intelligence gathering and improve coordination with other security agencies.
He also called for lessons from recent off-cycle elections to be applied to preparations for the 2027 general elections, particularly in intelligence gathering, logistics and inter-agency cooperation.
“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 relevant authorities to provide INEC and security agencies with the resources needed to effectively discharge their responsibilities.
The INEC chairman expressed hope that the Owerri retreat would produce an actionable roadmap for managing election security ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Also speaking, President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, called for stronger cooperation between the Nigeria Police Force and INEC.
She said effective policing support was essential to protecting the electoral process and facilitating free, fair, credible and transparent elections.
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