By Gabriel Ameh
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said adequate funding will be critical to providing the security, personnel and logistics needed for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, made the remarks on Wednesday in Owerri, Imo State, while delivering a goodwill message at the sixth Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers.
The retreat, organised around the theme, “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections,” focused on strengthening the role of the police and other security agencies in protecting the electoral process.
Amupitan said although INEC’s funding is constitutionally provided as a first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the broad responsibilities assigned to the commission require sustained financial support.
He noted that INEC conducts presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly elections, while also handling voter registration and the registration of political parties.
The chairman further explained that the commission has statutory powers to request the deployment of security agencies during elections and voter registration, making security an important component of the electoral process.
He said financial limitations could affect what government agencies are able to accomplish within a given period.
“Sometimes, it is not what you would like to do that you are able to do because of financial constraints,” Amupitan said, stressing that the available resources must be properly allocated among government agencies, including INEC and the police.
Voter register remains critical
The INEC chairman also identified voter registration as a foundation for credible elections, warning that an inaccurate or outdated voters’ register could affect the inclusiveness of the electoral process.
He said the commission’s responsibility for elections across the three tiers of government means election-related expenditure, including security and logistics, should be viewed as a collective national responsibility.
According to Amupitan, adequate resources would be required to deploy electoral personnel and materials to local government areas, wards, registration areas and polling units across the country.
He added that even where security agencies successfully maintain peace, inadequate logistics could still affect the effective conduct of elections.
Amupitan said security and logistics had been prioritised under his leadership, adding that INEC was working with government and security agencies to address operational challenges ahead of the 2027 elections.
INEC, police strengthen election security coordination
The INEC chairman also highlighted the role of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in coordinating the activities of INEC, security agencies and other relevant government institutions.
He explained that ICCES emerged as a coordination mechanism following the 2011 general elections and concerns over post-election violence.
According to him, the committee now operates at federal, state and local government levels, with the Inspector-General of Police participating at the national level, commissioners of police at the state level and divisional police leadership represented at the local level.
Amupitan said stronger inter-agency coordination would be necessary ahead of the 2027 elections, noting that the Nigeria Police Force remains the lead agency for election security.
He pointed to recent off-cycle elections as examples of the importance of security coordination, saying security agencies had helped resolve incidents that could otherwise have disrupted the electoral process.
He urged stakeholders to apply lessons from recent elections to preparations for 2027, particularly in intelligence gathering, logistics and coordination among security and electoral institutions.
The INEC chairman also said Nigerians expected a highly effective electoral system but should recognise that achieving such standards 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 called on relevant authorities to provide INEC and security agencies with the resources required to carry out their responsibilities effectively.
Amupitan reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to strengthening operational cooperation through ICCES and expressed optimism that the Owerri retreat would produce an actionable roadmap for election security ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He also charged senior police officers to maintain professional neutrality, strengthen intelligence gathering and improve inter-agency coordination to protect the integrity of the electoral process.
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, similarly urged the leadership and operational personnel of the Nigeria Police Force to strengthen their support and cooperation with INEC.
She said effective policing would remain important to safeguarding the electoral process and supporting the delivery of free, fair, credible and transparent elections.
Source: Office of the Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, September 23, 2026.
