The National Assembly’s Joint Committee overseeing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Electoral Matters has given in to pressure to include N126 billion in funding for the commission in the 2025 Appropriations Act.
The Commission had previously turned down the N40 billion annual allocation that the Committee had set aside for it. INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu noted that Nigerian elections had grown to be a significant expense that needs sufficient funding.
At the National Assembly in Abuja this Friday, Prof. Mahmood stated so while leading a team to defend the electoral body’s budget estimates;
“Our proposal for the 2025 budget, the provision requires the sum of over N126 billion,” the INEC Boss revealed during his presentation to Senator Sarafadeen Alli (APC Oyo South).
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“We have the document that outlines line-by-line our intended use of the 126 billion dollars.
“The majority of our first-line charge tasks are constitutional, and we would like the National’s assistance to fulfill them.
Promoting
In summary, the N40 billion budget envelope set aside for 2025 will not cover one-third of the anticipated costs, or more than N126 billion.
“In addition to the bye-elections to fill 21 constituencies and the Anambra gubernatorial election this year, personnel costs due to the new minimum wage will consume the N40 billion budgetary envelope,” he stated.
He went on to say that because the N40 billion budget envelope was insufficient, the electoral commission had to obtain N10.5 billion in intervention funds for the 2024 Edo and Ondo elections, as well as an additional N500 million for bye-elections in the impacted areas.
Evidently persuaded by INEC’s proposal, the joint committee members successively promised the electoral organization that the suggested amount would be allocated for the budgetary election in 2025.
The matter at hand, according to Senator Ireti Kingibe (LP FCT), is not about finding the N126 billion for INEC in the fiscal year 2025, but rather about supplying it.
The group announced its intention to discuss possibilities of acquiring the funding as the meeting proceeded behind closed doors.
