The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has warned that inadequate funding could hamper the security, logistics and other operations required for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan gave the warning on Wednesday in Owerri, Imo State, while delivering a goodwill message at the sixth Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers.
The INEC chairman said the commission’s responsibilities extended beyond conducting elections, noting that it was also saddled with voter registration, registration of political parties and the conduct of presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly elections.
He explained that 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.
Amupitan said financial constraints could limit what government agencies were able to accomplish, stressing that the successful conduct of elections depended on adequate funding.
“Sometimes, it is not what you would like to do that you are able to do because of financial constraints,” he said.
The INEC chairman particularly highlighted the financial demands of deploying electoral personnel and materials across local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units.
He said adequate funding was also essential to meeting security requirements, noting that INEC had statutory powers to request the deployment of security agencies during elections and voter registration.
According to him, election security and logistics were inseparable from the availability of adequate resources.
Amupitan further described voter registration as the foundation of credible elections, warning that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could affect the inclusiveness and credibility of the electoral process.
He argued that since INEC conducts elections across the three tiers of government, funding electoral activities, including security-related expenditure, should be treated as a collective national responsibility.
The chairman also stressed the importance of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, in coordinating INEC, the police, other security agencies and relevant government institutions.
He said the committee, established as a coordinating mechanism after the 2011 general elections amid concerns over post-election violence, had evolved into a structured platform operating at the federal, state and local government levels.
Amupitan said stronger inter-agency coordination would be required ahead of the 2027 elections, identifying the Nigeria Police Force as the lead agency in election security.
He urged senior police officers to maintain professional neutrality, strengthen intelligence gathering and improve coordination with INEC and other relevant agencies.
Reflecting on recent off-cycle elections, the INEC chairman said the experience demonstrated the importance of effective security coordination in preventing incidents from disrupting the electoral process.
He said the lessons from those elections should be incorporated into preparations for 2027, particularly in the areas of intelligence, logistics and inter-agency cooperation.
Amupitan said Nigerians expected a highly effective electoral system but must also recognise that achieving such standards came with financial obligations.
“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 INEC and security agencies with the resources needed to discharge their responsibilities effectively.
The chairman expressed optimism that the Owerri retreat would produce an actionable roadmap for election security ahead of the 2027 general elections.
