Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said that adequate funding is critical to providing security and logistics 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, themed: “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections.”
The INEC chairman was accompanied by National Commissioners, Dr Ken Nnamdi Ukeagu and Rear Admiral Jamila Abubakar Malaga (rtd); Resident Electoral Commissioner for Imo State, Chukwuemeka Ibeziakor; and Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to the Chairman, Adedayo Oketola.
Amupitan said although INEC’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 INEC was responsible not only for presidential and National Assembly elections, but also for governorship and State Assembly elections, voter registration and the registration of political parties.
According to him, the commission also has statutory powers to request the deployment of security agencies for elections and voter registration, making security integral to 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Amupitan said voter registration remained the foundation of credible elections, saying an inaccurate or outdated register could undermine inclusiveness.
He argued that 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 the deployment of personnel and electoral materials to local government areas, wards and polling units.
According to him, even where security agencies succeed in maintaining peace, inadequate logistics could still undermine the conduct of elections.
Amupitan said INEC had made security and logistics priorities under his leadership, adding that the commission was working with the government and security agencies to ensure operational challenges did not undermine the 2027 polls.
He highlighted the role of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), describing it as a platform that brings INEC and relevant security agencies together to coordinate election security.
He said the committee, which began as a coordinating arrangement after the 2011 general elections following concerns over post-election violence, had evolved into a structured mechanism operating at federal, state and local levels.
The INEC chairman said stronger coordination would be necessary ahead of 2027, noting that the police remained the lead agency for election security.
He cited recent off-cycle elections as evidence of the importance of adequate security and coordination, recalling that security agencies helped resolve incidents that could have disrupted the process.
Amupitan said the experience of recent elections should be used to strengthen preparations for 2027, particularly in intelligence gathering, logistics and inter-agency coordination.
He said Nigerians expected a highly effective electoral system but must also recognise that achieving such standards required adequate resources.
“In Nigeria, we want the best. We want our electoral system to be 100 per cent. But sometimes we don’t ask ourselves the question: if we want the nation to be perfect, there must be a cost for it,” he said.
He urged relevant authorities to provide the resources required by security agencies and INEC to perform their responsibilities effectively.
Reaffirming his commitment to deepening operational synergy through ICCES, the chairman expressed optimism that the Owerri retreat would produce an actionable roadmap ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He charged senior police managers to sustain professional neutrality, proactive intelligence gathering and seamless inter-agency coordination to protect the integrity of the ballot.
Also, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, charged the leadership and operational personnel of the Nigeria Police Force to extend support and synergy to the INEC chairman in fulfilling his mandate.
The NBA president emphasised that robust policing support remained vital to safeguarding the electoral process and guaranteeing the delivery of free, fair, credible and transparent elections.
WATCH TOP VIDEOS FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE TV