The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has been allocated N1.013 trillion in the 2026 budget presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to details contained in the 2026 Appropriation Bill released by the Budget Office of the Federation, the allocation stands at exactly N1,013,778,401,602.
President Tinubu presented a total budget proposal of N58.18 trillion, tagged “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity.”
The proposal projects total revenue of N34.33 trillion and total expenditure of N58.18 trillion, including N15.52 trillion earmarked for debt servicing.
INEC has repeatedly stressed the need for early and adequate funding to ensure the conduct of credible elections.
The Electoral Act 2022 reinforces this need for timely funding.
Section 3(3) of the Act mandates that election funds must be released to INEC at least one year before the conduct of a general election.
It states: “The election funds due to the Commission for any general elections are to be released to the Commission not later than one year before the next general election.”
In 2025, the National Assembly approved an upward review of INEC’s budget, increasing it from the initially proposed N40 billion to N140 billion.
For the 2023 general elections, the commission spent N313.4 billion.
However, INEC disclosed in its 2023 General Election Report that although N355 billion was approved for the polls, only N313.4 billion had been released as of September 2023.
