By Tony Ademiluyi
Joash Amupitan, chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has renewed calls for the commission to receive its funding directly from the federation account, arguing this is essential to guaranteeing credible elections.
Context
The push comes against the backdrop of significant electoral reform activity in 2026. President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) Bill into law in February, following extended deliberation in the National Assembly. In April, the House of Representatives further amended the law to make the Court of Appeal the final authority on pre-election disputes involving state assemblies, the National Assembly, and governorship races. More recently, in early July, the Court of Appeal in Abuja struck down several sections of the Act, ruling that a subsidiary law could not disqualify a candidate the Constitution had already deemed eligible.
Amupitan’s Argument
Speaking in Abuja at the public unveiling of Eniola Bello’s two-volume book on Nigerian political history, Amupitan said the current budget process weakens INEC’s financial independence and hampers its efficiency. While the Constitution designates INEC as a first-line charge, he argued this status doesn’t provide real fiscal autonomy, since the commission still must navigate the federal government’s standard budget envelope and appropriation process through the National Assembly — a system he described as costing valuable time.
He pointed out that INEC’s mandate goes well beyond presidential and National Assembly elections: the commission also runs governorship and state assembly elections, regulates political parties, and maintains the national voter register — yet all of this is funded through the same consolidated revenue channel. Governorship and assembly elections, he noted, are actually more expensive to conduct than national polls, making the existing arrangement financially unsustainable. His proposed fix is to have INEC funded directly through the federation account to enable smoother, more efficient operations.
Party Regulation Proposals
Amupitan also pushed for further changes to the Electoral Act that would give INEC stronger oversight of political parties, saying this could cut down on the volume of pre-election court cases. He revealed that INEC is exploring a mediation system meant to settle internal party disputes within a three-month window, offering an alternative to lengthy litigation. Additionally, he suggested that all party-related disputes be resolved at least a year ahead of any general election, to avoid last-minute legal fights disrupting the voting process.
