The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has said adequate funding is essential to ensuring the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan made the statement on Wednesday in Owerri, Imo State, while delivering a goodwill message at the sixth Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, organised around the theme, “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections.”
The INEC chairman said the commission’s constitutional status as a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund did not eliminate the need for sustained financial support, given the wide range of responsibilities involved in organising elections.
According to him, financial limitations can affect the ability of both INEC and security agencies to deliver effectively, particularly in the areas of logistics, personnel deployment and election security.
He said, “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.”
Amupitan explained that INEC’s responsibilities extend beyond 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 the commission also has the statutory authority to request the deployment of security agencies during elections and voter registration, making security a key component of the electoral process.
The INEC chairman identified voter registration as the foundation of credible elections, warning that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could affect the inclusiveness and credibility of the electoral process.
He noted that because elections are conducted across the three tiers of government, the financial burden associated with elections, including security and logistics, should be regarded as a national responsibility.
Amupitan said adequate resources would be required to move electoral personnel and materials to local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units across the country.
He stressed that even when security agencies successfully maintain peace, inadequate logistics could still affect the smooth conduct of elections.
The INEC chairman further disclosed that security and logistics had become major priorities under his leadership, with the commission working alongside government institutions and security agencies to address operational challenges ahead of the 2027 polls.
He also highlighted the importance of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), which brings together INEC, security agencies and relevant government institutions to coordinate election security.
According to Amupitan, ICCES was established as a coordination mechanism following concerns over post-election violence after the 2011 general elections and has since developed into a structured platform operating at federal, state and local government levels.
He explained that the Inspector-General of Police participates at the national level, commissioners of police operate at the state level, while divisional police leadership is represented at the local level.
Amupitan said closer cooperation among security agencies would be crucial ahead of the 2027 elections, noting that the police remained the lead agency responsible for election security.
Reflecting on recent off-cycle elections, he said the experience demonstrated the importance of effective security arrangements, intelligence gathering and inter-agency coordination in preventing incidents from disrupting the electoral process.
He urged senior police officers to maintain professionalism and political neutrality while strengthening intelligence gathering and cooperation with other agencies.
The INEC chairman also addressed public expectations for the electoral system, noting that achieving a highly effective electoral process requires significant investment.
“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,” Amupitan said.
He called on relevant authorities to provide INEC and security agencies with the resources needed to carry out their constitutional and statutory responsibilities effectively.
Amupitan expressed optimism that the Owerri retreat would produce practical recommendations for improving election security and operational coordination ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to strengthening collaboration through ICCES and urged senior police managers to protect the integrity of the electoral process through professional conduct, proactive intelligence gathering and effective coordination.
