Arewa group backs INEC chairman’s call for direct funding from federation account

• Demands urgent financial autonomy for commission

The Arewa Development and Advocacy Network (ADNAN) has commended Prof. Joash Amupitan, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for his renewed and courageous call for the Commission to be funded directly from the Federation Account rather than through the conventional annual appropriation process.

Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the public presentation of “Shadows: Protest Essays on Africa’s Most Consequential Country (1999-2023),” a two-volume work by Eniola Bello, Managing Director of ThisDay Newspaper, the INEC Chairman noted that although the 1999 Constitution places the Commission on the first-line charge, this arrangement is not strong enough to guarantee genuine financial independence.

He stated that INEC’s continued reliance on the envelope budgeting system and the appropriation process compels the Commission to approach the National Assembly for funding release, a bottleneck that undermines operational efficiency and timely election planning.

“ADNAN considers this position both timely and necessary. As a Regional-led organisation committed to good governance, transparent institutions and democratic stability across the North and Nigeria, we align fully with the INEC Chairman’s position that direct access to the Federation Account, rather than dependence on the annual budget cycle, is essential if the Commission is to deliver free, fair and credible elections at every level.

“Nigeria’s electoral process cannot be insulated from manipulation, delay or underperformance if the body charged with conducting it remains financially tethered to the discretion of other arms of government.

“INEC’s responsibilities go well beyond presidential and National Assembly elections; the Commission also conducts governorship and state assembly polls, which the Chairman rightly noted are often more expensive to organise, registers and regulates political parties, and maintains the national voter register used at every level of election.

“A mandate of this magnitude, our group believes, demands funding certainty that only direct access to the Federation Account can guarantee.

“We hold that adequate and predictable funding is not a bureaucratic convenience; it is foundational to free, fair and credible elections.

“Underfunded and appropriation-dependent election management bodies are more prone to logistical failure, late deployment of materials, poorly trained personnel and, ultimately, diminished public trust.

“Nigeria’s democracy, and indeed democratic practice across our sub-region, cannot afford these risks in the years ahead,” he said.

Speaking further, Bello listed the group’s demands as follows:

• The National Assembly should, as a matter of urgency, further amend the Electoral Act and relevant fiscal legislation to place INEC squarely on the Federation Account, guaranteeing seamless, first-line, non-discretionary funding.
• Government at the federal level should treat INEC’s financial autonomy as an extension of the constitutional guarantee of its independence, in the same spirit as the autonomy already extended to the judiciary and other constitutionally sensitive institutions.
• The National Assembly and executive should engage INEC’s leadership constructively and expeditiously on this proposal, rather than allowing it to stall in the manner of previous funding-reform conversations.
• Civil society, the media and youth organisations across Nigeria should rally behind this call, as electoral integrity is a shared national responsibility that outlives any single administration or election cycle.

“ADNAN reiterates that the credibility of any election rests significantly on the independence and capacity of the body that conducts it.

“We therefore urge the National Assembly to give this proposal the legislative attention it deserves, and we call on all democratic stakeholders, including political parties, civil society organisations and the Nigerian youth population, to support this push for institutional and financial autonomy for INEC.

“We further encourage the INEC Chairman to sustain this advocacy and to work with the National Assembly, the executive and relevant stakeholders to translate this proposal into concrete legislative and administrative action ahead of future election cycles”, the statement added.