INEC Says It Has Received Over N500bn for 2027 Elections, Warns of Outstanding Funding Gaps

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has received more than ₦500 billion, representing over half of the budget approved for the conduct of the 2027 general elections, but says additional funding will be required to fully implement its election plans.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this during an interview on Arise News on Friday while discussing the commission's preparations for the next general elections.

According to Haruna, the release of the funds marks significant progress in financing the electoral process, although the commission is still dealing with outstanding financial obligations from previous elections.

"Currently, we have received more than half of the allocated funds, approximately ₦500 billion or slightly more. This represents over 50 per cent of the total amount," Haruna said.

Haruna said the commission continues to face financial pressures arising from unpaid obligations linked to previous elections.

According to him, INEC still owes contractors about ₦6 billion, while more than ₦20 billion remains outstanding from its statutory allocation for the previous election cycle.

"Naturally, there are still some issues to address. We have debts from the last general election due to insufficient funding at that time," he said.

"We owe contractors around ₦6 billion, and from the statutory allocation of over ₦140 billion for that year, we still have an outstanding amount of over ₦20 billion."

He added that the first tranche of more than ₦500 billion was released only recently.

"I believe it was just this month that the first ₦500 billion was released, about a week or two ago."

Despite concerns over funding, Haruna said the commission has not delayed preparations for the 2027 elections.

He disclosed that INEC has already commenced procurement processes for additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and other critical election materials required for the polls.

According to him, senior officials of the commission recently travelled to China to conclude arrangements for the procurement of the technology.

"Certainly, we are concerned. Everyone shares this concern. Ultimately, the funds must be available. Therefore, it is encouraging news that more than half has been released," he said.

"However, even prior to this, we have been engaged in extensive preparations."

Haruna said the commission's Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), alongside another official, had travelled to China to finalise the importation of additional BVAS equipment.

"The Director of ICT, along with another individual, travelled to China to finalise the importation of BVAS, which is crucial to our current electoral process."

Haruna stressed that while the release of more than half of the election budget is encouraging, the timely disbursement of the remaining allocation will be essential to sustaining preparations and ensuring the smooth conduct of the 2027 general elections.

He said INEC remains committed to implementing its election timetable but emphasised that adequate funding would be critical to delivering a credible, transparent and efficient electoral process.