The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has revealed that the Federal Government released N313.4 billion for the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
The commission in its 2023 General Election Report released on Friday, said out of the N355bn approved for the conduct of the elections, the sum of N313.4 billion was only released as of September 2023,
According to the report, based on the key activities in the approved Election Project Plan for the 2023 general election, INEC proposed a budget of N305 billion for the conduct of the elections.
The breakdown of this amount showed that the commission asked for N159.7 billion for electoral operations; N117. 3 billion for electoral technology; and N20.4 billion for electoral administrative costs.
It also showed that N7.4 billion representing 2.5 per cent of the election operation, technological and administrative costs was set aside for unforeseen electoral expenses.
The report stated that in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the commission’s budget proposal for the 2023 general election was submitted to the presidency and duly transmitted to the National Assembly for approval.
“Consequently, the commission appeared before the Senate and House Committees on INEC as well as the Senate and House Appropriations Committee in a joint session during which the INEC Chairman presented the expenditure layout of the budget and answered all questions and queries from Committee members.
“The National Assembly approved and appropriated the sum of N303.1 billion for the conduct of the 2023 general election,” it stated.
It, however, stated that by January 2023, it was clear that the approved amount would not be enough for the conduct of the election due to the inflation rate and consumer price index as well as the widening differentials in the foreign exchange rate.