The Independent National Electoral Commission has said it is yet to receive budgetary allocations for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
INEC National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Malam Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during a cross-sectoral interactive session organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa in partnership with Legis360.
The session, which brought together political parties, civil society organisations and INEC officials, focused on the just-concluded Ekiti governorship election and the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Haruna said although the commission was still awaiting the release of funds, preparations for the general elections were already ongoing.
INEC had proposed a total budget of N873.78 billion for the 2027 elections, with allocations expected to cover election operations, technology deployment and capital expenditure.
The national commissioner explained that the delay was still within the period allowed by the Electoral Act, 2026, which provides that funds due to the commission for any general election must be released not later than six months before the next general election.
He, however, noted that early preparation remained critical because procurement of election materials, including technology devices, takes time.
According to him, the commission is already making arrangements for the procurement of new election materials, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines and other devices that were damaged, lost or not recovered during previous elections.
“Our Director of ICT just returned from China regarding procurement because not all the BVAS devices used during the last general elections were recovered. Orders need to be placed and these things take time,” Haruna said.
He also disclosed that INEC was planning to conduct mock presidential election exercises to test-run its technology deployment ahead of the 2027 polls.
Haruna said the mock exercise would form part of efforts to avoid a repeat of the technical glitches that affected the INEC Result Viewing portal during the 2023 presidential election.
Meanwhile, INEC has dismissed a viral report claiming that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise in Akwukwu Igbo, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, was suspended because of a faulty machine.
In a statement issued by the Head of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs. Nseabasi Udom, the commission described the report as false, misleading and not originating from INEC.
The commission said its preparations for the 2027 general elections would continue in line with the law, while assuring stakeholders that lessons from previous elections were being reviewed to strengthen future electoral processes.