President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has proposed a massive allocation of N1,013,778,401,602 to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the 2026 budget, setting the stage for the 2027 general elections. This historic allocation, one of the largest ever for the electoral body, is part of the N58.18 trillion Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly.
A Budget for Electoral Preparedness
The details, released by the Budget Office of the Federation, show the INEC allocation embedded within the "Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity." The overall budget projects total revenue of N34.33 trillion and expenditure of N58.18 trillion, which includes N15.52 trillion earmarked for debt service. This early funding aligns with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates that election funds be released to the commission at least one year before the polls.
Observers note that this substantial sum will be critically tested by the enormous logistical demands of a Nigerian general election. These demands include the procurement and deployment of technology, extensive voter education campaigns, and the nationwide deployment of staff and materials. The allocation follows a pattern of increasing election budgets; in 2025, the National Assembly revised INEC's budget upward to N140 billion from an initial N40 billion proposal.
The Rising Cost of Democracy in Nigeria
The commission's spending history reveals a significant upward trend. For the 2023 general elections, INEC spent N313.4 billion, though it reported that only this amount had been released out of an approved N355 billion by September 2023. Previous elections cost N189 billion in 2019 and approximately N108.8 billion in 2015.
Providing expert context, Professor Bolade Eyinla, the immediate past Chief Technical Adviser to INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had projected in October that the commission might need about N870 billion (roughly $600 million) to conduct the 2027 polls. He made this projection at a Yiaga Africa retreat in Abuja, highlighting that Nigeria's elections are among the world's largest peacetime civil operations.
Eyinla's estimate is informed by previous costs, adjusted for inflation, currency fluctuations, and operational expansion. He noted that with over 93 million registered voters, 176,846 polling units, and 1,558 electoral constituencies, the scale is immense. On a per-voter basis, he estimated the cost at approximately $6.72, which he stated is within international norms for transitional democracies.
How Nigeria's Election Costs Compare
In a striking comparative analysis, Professor Eyinla argued that Nigeria's election costs are among the lowest in Africa. He provided the following per-voter cost comparisons:
- Kenya: $25.9 (2017) and $14.9 (2022)
- Ghana: $13.1 (2016) and $7.7 (2020)
- South Africa: $5.1 (2019) and $7.1 (2024)
- Democratic Republic of Congo: $22 and $14.37 (2023)
- Liberia: $22 per voter (2023)
- India: $8.5 per voter (2019)
This N1.01 trillion allocation now places the projected financial framework for the 2027 elections squarely before the National Assembly. As lawmakers deliberate on the 2026 Appropriation Bill, the focus will be on ensuring that these funds are managed prudently to deliver a credible, transparent, and technologically robust electoral process for Nigeria's democracy.
