National Assembly approves N126bn for INEC under 2025 budget amid pressure

The National Assembly’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Electoral Matters Joint Committee has given in to pressure for the commission’s N126 billion budget proposal in the 2025 Appropriations Act.

INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu noted that Nigerian elections have grown to be a significant expense that requires sufficient money, which is why the Commission had previously rejected the N40 billion annual allocation set aside for it by the Committee.

When he led a team to defend the electoral body’s budget projections at the National Assembly in Abuja this Friday, Prof. Mahmood remarked

The INEC Boss clarified during his presentation to Senator Sarafadeen Alli (APC Oyo South) that “the provision requires the sum of over N126 billion in our proposal for the 2025 budget.”

“We have the document that outlines our intended use of the 126 billion dollars, line by line.

In order to fulfill our obligations under the first line charge—the majority of which are constitutional—we would like the National’s assistance.

Promotion
To put it briefly, the N40 billion budget envelope that has been provided for 2025 would not cover one-third of the anticipated costs, which adds up to more than N126 billion.

Read Also: LUBCON Boss, Jani Ibrahim, Honoured by Al-Hikmah University

“The N40 billion budgetary envelope will be consumed by personnel costs alone due to the new minimum wage, aside from the off-cycle elections for 21 constituencies that will be filled through bye-elections and the Anambra governorship election this year,” he stated.

He continued by saying that the electoral commission had to obtain N10.5 billion in intervention funds for the 2024 Edo and Ondo elections and an additional N500 million for bye-elections in the impacted areas due to the N40 billion budget envelope’s insufficiency.

Members of the joint committee, perhaps persuaded by INEC’s suggestion, successively promised the electoral body that the proposed amount will be budgeted for in the fiscal election of 2025.

“The situation at hand is not about looking for the N126 billion for INEC in 2025 fiscal year but providing it,” stated Senator Ireti Kingibe (LP FCT).

The group stated that it intended to talk about how to find the funding as the meeting proceeded behind closed doors.