The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has warned that the commission may struggle to carry out its constitutional duties in 2025 due to severe budgetary constraints.
He stated that the proposed N40 billion budget for the year is barely sufficient to cover staff salaries, leaving critical electoral activities unfunded.
Yakubu made this disclosure during a session with the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committees on INEC and Electoral Matters on Friday.
He revealed that INEC would require at least N126 billion to effectively run its operations in 2025, highlighting that the N40 billion allocation represents a significant shortfall.
Yakubu expressed concerns that the budget does not cover key elections scheduled for 2025 and beyond.
He pointed out that the Anambra State governorship election, set for later in the year, has no funding provision.
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Similarly, Yakubu noted that planning for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections and the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states in 2026 must begin in 2025, but these activities are not reflected in the budget.
Yakubu also emphasised the urgency of beginning preparations for the 2027 general elections, including Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and the redistribution of voters across polling units to ensure parity.
However, these critical activities he said remain unfunded in the current budget.
The INEC chairman further noted that the commission lacks resources to replace essential materials such as BVAS machines, ballot boxes, and voting cubicles destroyed in attacks across states like Imo, Benue, and Delta.
“Renovation of INEC offices affected by arson also remains unaddressed”, said Yakubu.
Yakubu highlighted the financial burden of conducting frequent by-elections, which he described as unsustainable.
He said INEC has conducted nine by-elections in 2023 alone, with more pending in states like Adamawa, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kano, Rivers, Edo, Anambra, and Niger.
The INEC boss proposed that election funding be shared between the federal and state governments to ease the financial burden on the centre.
He recommended allocating a percentage of funds from the Federation Account to support elections nationwide.
Yakubu also disclosed that INEC has developed 142 proposals, including constitutional amendments, to address electoral challenges. Eight of these proposals are directed at the National Assembly.
However, Senator Ireti Kingibe, a member of the joint committee, stressed the importance of adequately funding INEC to ensure the credibility of Nigeria’s elections.
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The committee subsequently went into an executive session to deliberate on Yakubu’s concerns and the way forward.
The session, chaired by Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun-Alli and Tayo Balogun, acknowledged the seriousness of the funding crisis and the need for immediate action to avert potential constitutional and electoral crises.
