The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said adequate funding of elections is critical to providing the security and logistics required for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan stated this 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.”
The INEC chairman said although the commission’s funding was constitutionally provided as a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the scale of its responsibilities required sustained financial support to enable it conduct elections effectively.
He explained that INEC was responsible for presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly elections, as well as voter registration and the registration of political parties.
According to him, the commission also has statutory powers to request the deployment of security agencies for elections and voter registration, making security an integral component of the electoral process.
“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,” he said.
Amupitan stressed that voter registration remained the foundation of credible elections, noting that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could undermine the inclusiveness of the electoral process.
He said because INEC conducts elections affecting the three tiers of government, expenditure on elections, including security-related costs, should be regarded as a collective national responsibility.
The INEC chairman said adequate funding was particularly necessary for the deployment of personnel and electoral materials to local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units.
He noted that even where security agencies succeeded in maintaining peace, inadequate logistics could still undermine the conduct of elections.
Amupitan said INEC had made security and logistics priorities under his leadership, adding that the commission was working with government and security agencies to ensure operational challenges did not undermine the 2027 polls.
He also highlighted the role of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), describing it as a platform for coordinating INEC and relevant security and government agencies on election security.
According to him, ICCES, which emerged as a coordinating arrangement after the 2011 general elections amid concerns over post-election violence, has evolved into a structured mechanism for election security coordination.
He said the committee now operates at federal, state and local government levels, with the Inspector-General of Police participating at the national level, commissioners of police at the state level and divisional police leadership represented at the local level.
Amupitan said stronger coordination among security agencies would be necessary ahead of the 2027 elections, stressing that the police remained the lead agency for election security.
He cited recent off-cycle elections as evidence of the importance of adequate security and coordination, noting that security agencies had helped resolve incidents that could otherwise have disrupted the electoral process.
The INEC chairman urged stakeholders to use the lessons from recent elections to strengthen preparations for the 2027 general elections, particularly in intelligence gathering, logistics and inter-agency coordination.
He said Nigerians expected a highly effective electoral system 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.
Amupitan urged relevant authorities to provide the resources required by INEC and security agencies to enable them perform their respective responsibilities effectively.
Reaffirming the commission’s commitment to strengthening operational synergy through ICCES, he expressed optimism that the Owerri retreat would produce an actionable and forward-looking roadmap for the 2027 general elections.
He also charged senior police managers to maintain professional neutrality, proactive intelligence gathering and effective inter-agency coordination in protecting the integrity of the electoral process.
In his remarks, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, urged the leadership and operational personnel of the Nigeria Police Force to provide the necessary support and synergy to the INEC chairman in the discharge of his mandate.
The NBA president stressed that effective policing support remained vital to safeguarding the electoral process and ensuring free, fair, credible and transparent elections across the country.
