On Tuesday, 17 June 2025, President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the construction of a new national headquarters for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
During the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr Tinubu stated that the project symbolises democratic resilience and institutional dignity.
Similarly, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, assured that the project would be completed before the end of the President’s first term in office, which concludes in 2027.
The project, being executed by the Federal Capital Development Authority, will feature office spaces, meeting and conference rooms, a 1,000-seat auditorium, and designated areas for IT infrastructure, including the Election Monitoring and Support Centre.
It will also house a museum to preserve Nigeria’s electoral history and promote civic education.
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INEC’s current headquarters were built and inaugurated in December 1997.
According to the Commission’s Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the building was originally designed to accommodate only eight commission members, ten departments, and around 500 staff.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mr Yakubu noted that INEC has since expanded significantly, now comprising 13 full-time members, 22 departments, and over 1,000 staff.
He explained that due to space constraints and in a bid to ease operational pressure, the Commission had resorted to renting two buildings in Wuse 2. However, the need for a permanent solution remained pressing.
He revealed that help eventually came last year when the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory stepped in to support the construction of the new annexe.
Despite his clarification, Mr Yakubu’s explanation failed to ease the controversy and criticism surrounding the motive behind the new headquarters, especially in light of the recent massacre in Benue State, where over 200 people were reportedly killed by assailants identified as Fulani herdsmen.
These killings intensified public backlash against the construction, with many critics suggesting that the project was politically motivated to enhance Mr Tinubu’s chances of re-election.
Meanwhile, political analyst Dr Bayo Fasuwon of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State, offered some perspective in an interview with The New Daily Prime.
He addressed the pressing question in the minds of many Nigerians: ‘Why build a new INEC headquarters?’
Dr Fasuwon described the initiative as a positive development, highlighting its importance in safeguarding the security of the facility and the sensitive electoral data it will house.
He emphasised that the construction aligns with the broader need to enhance electoral security and ensure credible, transparent elections.
“While you talk about the priorities, the timing and priorities of the Nigerian government, maybe you want to ask whether it reflects the priorities of Nigerians. Number one, if we are to look at the priorities of Nigerians, they want credible elections. They want good governance and they want to put the right people in place.
“And so, the construction of the INEC office does not presuppose that INEC will be in favour of the ruling party. It’s just like saying that the government is constructing courts and judicial quarters for judges and that implies that there will be injustice. So, Nigerians may not like it. Nigerians may not want it. But the question to ask is whether it is needed? Is the construction needed? Number two, is the construction within the budgets of the federal government that has been so approved? If that is the case, then we cannot say that what they are doing is wrong”, Mr Fasuwon noted.
Timing
Additionally, the analyst stated that the timing for the construction is still appropriate, as the Nigerian budget includes allocations for security.
He noted that if the construction had commenced a year before the elections, Nigerians might not have perceived it as an attempt to undermine credible elections.
He added that spending money on INEC does not necessarily imply that funds earmarked for national security have been diverted.
“If they declare emergencies in this area, that means that which has been allocated to these areas will also get speedy attention and then resources can also be released to quickly attend to this. However, if we talk about food insecurity, that one has to do with times and seasons too. If we talk about the cause of food insecurity, that means the security agencies should be up to the task.
“And let’s not forget that quite recently, the federal government also approved that forest rangers should be employed and equipped. And also, we realised that when it comes to issues of security, security is everybody’s business. And they are trying that.”
Security side-by-side
Mr Fasuwon emphasised the need for the government, not only to expedite the construction of the INEC headquarters, but also to act swiftly on critical issues such as the creation of state police in response to the growing insecurity in the country.
He noted that the construction of the INEC headquarters is unrelated to the issue of food insecurity, dismissing concerns that funds meant to address hunger and general insecurity are being diverted.
According to him, there is no diversion in this instance; rather, the government is focused on implementing the budget as approved.
“That of the security too, we will employ them to give more speedy attention to it. There are no alternative uses. Something we don’t know, or that most people out there don’t know, is that when you have a budget, a budget is a law. And when you begin to divert resources meant for project A to project B, you are breaking the law. And that is why even when the government needs money, they have to get a supplementary budget which must be approved by the Senate.
“So it has been written there that this is what the money must be used for. Any form of diversion, whether for positive or negative use, means that they are breaking the law. And it is an impeachable offence. So if the government has not broken the law by embarking on that project, if they have not diverted funds meant for security to the construction of the INEC office, then they have not broken any law whatsoever”, said Mr Fasuwon.
The analyst said he refused to align with those suggesting alternative uses for the funds, insisting that such alternatives are not applicable when the expenditure is legally backed.
He stated that what Nigerians should demand now is the swift implementation of the section of the budget addressing insecurity, whether in the food sector, the protection of lives and property, or national defence.
He maintained that the government is not misplacing its priorities, but emphasised that there are established plans and procedures that must be adhered to to remain within the bounds of the law.
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“So when there are emergencies, we also expect to see the human face of the government. The government is always too silent, too like a bicycle, and too reserved when it comes to issues that need a quick response. But we cannot say that because those issues need a quick response, they should also overlook those things that the law has given them the responsibility of seeing to or performing. So if we balance both together, then all the tiers of government must work together with the understanding that whenever there is an issue in one part of the country, there can be a spillover to the other parts of the country.
“So it is when the local government and the state governments have exceeded their limits, or they have found the situation beyond their control, that they should seek the intervention of the federal government. But by and large, all of us must work together. We want credible elections. We want INEC to be impartial. They need structures for them to live up to that expectation. We want a nation that is free from insecurity, either food insecurity or insecurity of lives and properties.
“We all need to work together, we need to give information, and we need to do what is also necessary. Every spending in Nigeria, every sector is a priority, but we can all work together to ensure that all these things are receiving attention. And even people have a social responsibility. If a project is ongoing or if there are things that are going wrong, they should come out and talk about it so that such will not become relevant projects in the future.”
