The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said adequate funding is critical to providing the security and logistics needed for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan stated this on Wednesday in Owerri, Imo State, while delivering a goodwill message at the sixth edition of the Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers.
The conference was themed “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections.”
The INEC chairman said although the commission’s funding was constitutionally provided as a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the scale of its responsibilities required sustained financial support.
He said, “The scale of our responsibilities requires sustained financial support to enable the commission to effectively discharge its mandate.”
Amupitan explained that INEC was responsible for presidential and National Assembly elections, as well as governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
He added that the commission was also responsible for voter registration and the registration of political parties.
According to him, “We are not only conducting elections. We are also responsible for voter registration and the registration of political parties, among other statutory responsibilities.”
The INEC chairman said the commission also had statutory powers to request the deployment of security agencies for elections and voter registration, making security an integral part of the electoral process.
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Amupitan stressed that voter registration remained the foundation of credible elections, warning that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could undermine the inclusiveness of the electoral process.
He said, “Voter registration remains the foundation of the electoral process. If the voters’ register is inaccurate or outdated, the inclusiveness of the election can be affected.”
The chairman said because INEC conducts elections affecting the three tiers of government, election expenditure, including security-related costs, should be approached as a collective national responsibility.
He said adequate funding was particularly important for deploying personnel and electoral materials to local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units.
Amupitan noted that security alone would not guarantee a successful election if logistical challenges prevented election officials and materials from reaching their designated locations.
He said, “Even where security agencies succeed in maintaining peace, inadequate logistics could still undermine the conduct of an election.”
The INEC chairman said security and logistics had been prioritised under his leadership, adding that the commission was working with government and security agencies to address operational challenges ahead of the 2027 polls.
He said, “Security and logistics are priorities for us, and we are working with the relevant government institutions and security agencies to ensure that operational challenges do not undermine the 2027 elections.”
Amupitan also highlighted the role of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), describing it as an important platform for coordinating INEC, security agencies and other relevant government institutions.
He said ICCES emerged as a coordinating arrangement after the 2011 general elections following concerns over post-election violence and had since evolved into a structured mechanism for election security coordination.
According to him, “ICCES provides the platform for INEC and the relevant security and government agencies to coordinate election security effectively.”
He explained that the committee operates at the federal, state and local government levels, with the Inspector-General of Police participating at the national level, commissioners of police at the state level and divisional police leadership represented at the local level.
Amupitan said the multi-level structure was designed to ensure that election security concerns could be identified and addressed through coordinated engagement.
He added, “Effective election security requires coordination at every level, from the national level to the states and down to the local government areas.”
The INEC chairman said sustained collaboration between the commission and the Nigeria Police Force would remain important to ensuring that security and operational challenges do not undermine the 2027 general elections.