President Bola Tinubu has allocated ₦1,013,778,401,602 to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to support preparations for the 2027 polls, including logistics, procurement of election technology, voter education, and nationwide deployment of personnel.
The figure, representing a nearly 31% increase from the ₦313.4 billion allocated in 2023 by the late President Muhammadu Buhari administration, is contained in the detailed breakdown of the 2026 budget presented before the National Assembly and released by the Budget Office of the Federation.
The proposed budget, tagged “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” projects total revenue of ₦34.33 trillion and total expenditure of ₦58.18 trillion, including ₦15.52 trillion for debt service.
The development comes ahead of the 2027 general elections and aligns with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates that election funds be released to INEC at least one year before a general election.
This allocation marks one of the largest financial provisions ever made for the electoral body in the history of earmarked funds for INEC to prepare for general elections.
For context, INEC received ₦108.8 billion for the 2015 general elections under the Goodluck Jonathan administration. In 2019, ₦143 billion was released, and in 2023, ₦313.4 billion was disbursed out of ₦355 billion approved by the National Assembly.
The increase in funds for the upcoming elections has been attributed by experts to the rise in the number of voters nationwide, making it necessary to provide significant resources to test the commission’s capacity to manage funds efficiently while meeting the complex logistical and operational demands of delivering credible elections in 2027.
On December 3, 2025, INEC revealed that over 9.8 million Nigerians completed online pre-registrations during the first quarter of its ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
The commission stated that more than 2.5 million registrations have been fully completed through both online and in-person processes, reflecting strong public participation in strengthening the country’s voters’ register.
The Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, disclosed that of the fully completed registrations during the first quarter of the CVR exercise, 1,503,832 were processed online, while 1,068,222 were completed physically at registration centers across the country as of November 28, 2025.
Meanwhile, INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan has reaffirmed the commission’s readiness to conduct an election that is free, transparent, and beyond reproach in the forthcoming 2027 general elections, stressing the importance of credibility in Nigeria’s democratic process.
He further emphasized that there will be no room for misconduct, whether by omission or commission, as INEC seeks to set a continental benchmark for election management in Africa.
