The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is yet to receive budgetary allocations for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
The INEC National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Malam Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja.
Haruna spoke at a cross-sectorial interactive session organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in partnership with Legis360.
The “fireside chat”, which brought together political parties, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and INEC officials, focused on the just-concluded Ekiti governorship election and INEC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Haruna said although the commission was still awaiting the release of the funds, preparations for the conduct of successful 2027 elections were ongoing.
INEC had proposed a total budget of N873.78 billion for the 2027 general elections, with substantial allocations dedicated to election operations, technology and capital expenditure.
The national commissioner explained that the development was still within the time limit as the Electoral Act, 2026, which provides that election funds due to the commission for any general election shall be released “not later than six months before the next general election.”
He, however, said that the commission was already making arrangements for the procurement of new election materials, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other machines that were damaged, lost or unrecovered during previous elections.
“Our Director of ICT just returned from China regarding procurement because not all the BVAS devices used during the last general elections were recovered. Orders need to be placed and these things take time,” he said.
Haruna also disclosed that the commission was planning to conduct mock presidential election exercises to test-run its technology deployment.
This, according to him is part of efforts to avoid a repeat of the technical glitches that affected the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal during the 2023 presidential election.
Meanwhile, the Commission (INEC) has dismissed a viral report that the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in Akwukwu Igbo, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State was suspended due to a faulty machine.
In a statement yesterday by the Head of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Nseabasi Udom, INEC described the publication as false, misleading, and not originating from the commission.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
