The Independent National Electoral Commission has asked the federal government to release the outstanding balance of its election budget as preparations for the 2027 general election enter the final 100 days.
INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan made the request in Abuja at a national stakeholders meeting marking the countdown to the polls. He said the commission wanted the election to meet high standards of transparency, integrity and peaceful conduct.
Amupitan said the federal government had already released statutory allocations that enabled INEC to meet vendor obligations, produce election technology, upgrade infrastructure and sustain nationwide preparations. He said timely release of the remaining funds was necessary for the rest of the electoral timetable.
According to the chairman, 18 of the 22 registered political parties submitted presidential candidates. He said Accord, the All Progressives Grand Alliance and the Youth Party submitted none, while the New Nigeria Peoples Party withdrew during the substitution period. The commission also reported 1,313 senatorial candidates, 3,547 House of Representatives candidates, 936 governorship and deputy governorship candidates and 9,692 state assembly candidates.
Amupitan said INEC investigated 112 complaints involving withdrawal, substitution and typographical issues, except matters already before the courts. He added that the commission was reviewing a September 24, 2026 Supreme Court judgment concerning provisions of the Electoral Act after receiving the certified copy.
The chairman said three phases of Continuous Voter Registration produced 10,772,421 registrations after biometric verification, taking the national register to about 103 million voters. Lagos had the largest register at 7,488,633, followed by Kano with 6,570,276 and Kaduna with 4,662,640.
He said the register would be displayed for claims and objections from October 9 to 15, while collection of voter cards from the first registration phase would begin on October 9 at local government centers. The final register is expected to be presented to political parties on December 15.
INEC said procurement was under way for 57,000 new BVAS devices and other election materials. The commission also renewed transport agreements covering more than 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats for movement to 176,846 polling units across 8,838 Registration Areas.
Amupitan said sensitive materials would move from Central Bank of Nigeria vaults to local government areas 72 hours before voting and onward to Registration Area Centers by 4pm on the eve of elections. Polling is scheduled to begin at 7:30am.
The commission expects to engage 707,384 temporary personnel for the presidential and National Assembly elections on January 16 and the same number for the governorship and state assembly elections on February 6, bringing total engagements across the two election days to 1,414,768.
European Union representative Ambassador Gautier Mingot pledged continued support for Nigeria’s democratic process and said the EU had no preferred candidate or political party. He said an expert mission would again observe the election process following INEC’s invitation.
Assistant Inspector General of Police Francis Idu said the police would review nationwide security preparations in November and brief Nigerians by the end of December. He said security planning covered election venues, materials, officials, vulnerable groups and results, with operations continuing in identified crisis areas.
Inter Party Advisory Council Chairman Yusuf Dantalle warned INEC officials and security personnel against partisanship. He urged political parties, election workers, security agencies and the media to operate within the law and protect public confidence in the process.
