Amupitan Seeks Better Funding, Coordination for 2027 Polls

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has called for stronger funding and closer coordination among security agencies ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan made the call on Wednesday in Owerri, Imo State, while delivering a goodwill message at the sixth Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers.

The conference, themed “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections,” brought together senior police officers and other stakeholders to discuss election security.

The INEC chairman said adequate funding remained critical to providing the security and logistics needed for successful elections.

He noted that the Constitution provides INEC funding as a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund. However, he said the scale of the commission’s responsibilities requires sustained financial support.

Amupitan explained that INEC conducts presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly elections. The commission also handles voter registration and political party registration.

He added that INEC has statutory powers to request the deployment of security agencies during elections and voter registration, making security an important part of its operations.

“Sometimes, it is not what you would like to do that you are able to do because of financial constraints,” Amupitan said.

According to him, government agencies must often work with available appropriations, even when their responsibilities require greater resources.

The chairman also identified voter registration as the foundation of credible elections. He warned that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could affect the inclusiveness and credibility of the electoral process.

Amupitan said election expenditure, including security and logistics, should be treated as a collective national responsibility because INEC conducts elections across the three tiers of government.

He stressed that adequate funding would enable the commission to deploy electoral personnel and materials effectively to local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units.

The INEC chairman further explained that maintaining peace alone would not guarantee a successful election if logistics remained inadequate.

He said the commission had therefore placed security and logistics among its priorities as preparations for the 2027 polls continue.

Amupitan also called for stronger collaboration through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES.

He explained that ICCES emerged after the 2011 general elections following concerns over post-election violence. The platform has since evolved into a structured mechanism for coordinating election security.

According to him, ICCES operates at federal, state and local government levels. The Inspector-General of Police participates at the national level, while commissioners of police and divisional police leadership represent the police at the state and local levels.

Amupitan said stronger coordination among the agencies would be necessary to protect the electoral process in 2027.

He identified the police as the lead agency for election security and urged all stakeholders to strengthen cooperation with INEC.

The chairman also referred to recent off-cycle elections as evidence of the importance of effective security coordination. He said security agencies had helped resolve incidents that could otherwise have disrupted the electoral process.

He urged stakeholders to draw lessons from those elections and improve preparations in intelligence gathering, logistics and inter-agency coordination.

Amupitan said Nigerians expected a highly effective electoral system but must also recognise that such a system requires 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 consequently urged relevant authorities to provide INEC and security agencies with the resources required to discharge their responsibilities effectively.

The INEC chairman expressed optimism that the Owerri retreat would produce an actionable and forward-looking roadmap for election security ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He also charged senior police managers to maintain professional neutrality, strengthen intelligence gathering and ensure seamless coordination among agencies to protect the integrity of the ballot.

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, also called for stronger police support for INEC.

Badejo-Okusanya urged the leadership and operational personnel of the Nigeria Police Force to give their full support to the INEC chairman in carrying out his mandate.

She said effective policing remained vital to protecting the electoral process and supporting the conduct of free, fair, credible and transparent elections across the country.