The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned that adequate funding will be critical to providing the security and logistics required for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, gave the warning 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.”
Amupitan said although INEC’s funding was constitutionally provided as a first line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the scale of the commission’s responsibilities required sustained financial support.
“Sometimes, it is not what you would like to do that you are able to do because of financial constraints,” he said, noting that available resources must be allocated according to what is affordable at a particular time.
According to the INEC chairman, the commission’s responsibilities extend beyond the conduct of presidential and National Assembly elections to include governorship and state House of Assembly elections, voter registration and the registration of political parties.
He added that INEC 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.
Amupitan stressed that adequate funding was particularly necessary for the deployment of personnel and electoral materials to local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units.
He said even where security agencies successfully maintained peace, inadequate logistics could still disrupt the electoral process.
The chairman also identified voter registration as the foundation of credible elections, warning that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could undermine the inclusiveness of the electoral process.
He argued that because INEC conducts elections across the three tiers of government, election expenditure, including security related costs, should be treated as a collective national responsibility.
Amupitan said security and logistics had been made priorities under his leadership, adding that the commission was working with government and security agencies to address operational challenges ahead of 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, security agencies and other relevant government institutions.
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 operating at the federal, state and local government levels.
He said the Inspector General of Police participates at the national level, commissioners of police at the state level and divisional police leadership at the local level.
The INEC chairman said stronger inter agency coordination would be necessary ahead of the 2027 elections, noting that the Nigeria Police Force remained the lead agency for election security.
He cited recent off cycle elections as demonstrating the importance of adequate security and coordination, saying security agencies had helped resolve incidents that could otherwise have disrupted the electoral process.
Amupitan urged stakeholders to apply lessons from recent elections to preparations for 2027, particularly in intelligence gathering, logistics and inter-agency coordination.
“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 called on relevant authorities to provide the resources required by INEC and security agencies to enable them discharge their responsibilities effectively.
Reaffirming the commission’s commitment to strengthening operational synergy through ICCES, Amupitan expressed optimism that the Owerri retreat would produce an actionable and forward looking roadmap for the 2027 general elections.
He also charged senior police officers to maintain professional neutrality, strengthen intelligence gathering and ensure seamless inter agency coordination to protect 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.
She stressed that robust policing support was vital to safeguarding the electoral process and facilitating free, fair, credible and transparent elections across the country.
Amupitan was accompanied to the retreat by National Commissioners Dr Ken Nnamdi Ukeagu and Rear Admiral Jamila Abubakar Malaga (rtd.), OFR, mni; Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziakor; and the Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola.
