2027 Elections: Amupitan Calls For Adequate Funding, Stronger Security Coordination

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has called for adequate funding of the electoral process, saying sufficient resources are essential to securing personnel, logistics and materials for the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan made the call on Wednesday in Owerri, Imo State, while delivering a goodwill message at the sixth Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, with the theme, “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections.”

He said the scale of INEC’s responsibilities required sustained financial support, noting that the Commission conducts elections at the federal and state levels while also handling voter registration and the registration of political parties.

Although INEC’s funding is constitutionally provided as a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, Amupitan said the provision must translate into adequate resources to enable the Commission to effectively discharge its mandate.

“Sometimes, it is not what you would like to do that you are able to do because of financial constraints,” he said, adding that government agencies, including INEC and the police, operate within the limits of available appropriations.

The INEC chairman linked election security directly to logistics, explaining that electoral officials, security personnel and sensitive materials must be deployed across local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units.

He said inadequate logistics could undermine the electoral process even where security agencies succeeded in maintaining peace.

Amupitan also described voter registration as the foundation of credible elections, stressing that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could affect the inclusiveness of the electoral process.

He said the Commission had prioritised security and logistics ahead of the 2027 elections and was working with government and security agencies to address operational challenges.

The chairman further identified the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) as a key mechanism for coordinating election security among INEC, the police and other relevant agencies.

According to him, ICCES operates at the federal, state and local government levels, providing a structured platform for security coordination before and during elections.

Amupitan said the police remained the lead agency for election security, stressing the need for stronger intelligence gathering, professional neutrality and seamless coordination among security agencies.

He urged stakeholders to draw lessons from recent off-cycle elections and apply them to preparations for the 2027 general elections.

“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 therefore called on relevant authorities to provide INEC and security agencies with the resources required to effectively perform their respective responsibilities.

Amupitan expressed optimism that the Owerri retreat would produce an actionable roadmap for strengthening election security ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Also speaking, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, urged the leadership and operational personnel of the Nigeria Police Force to sustain strong cooperation with INEC.

Badejo-Okusanya said effective police support was critical to safeguarding the electoral process and creating the conditions necessary for free, fair, credible and transparent elections.

The INEC chairman was accompanied to the event by National Commissioners Dr Ken Nnamdi Ukeagu and Rear Admiral Jamila Abubakar Malaga (Retd.), OFR, mni; Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziakor; and the Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to the Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, among other officials.