The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has said N100 billion is not enough to conduct the 2023 general elections.
Prof Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman said the N100 billion proposed for the 2023 general elections in the next year’s budget is inadequate.
He disclosed this while appearing before the Senate Committee on INEC to defend INEC’s 2022 budget estimates on Friday.
Yakubu recalled that N189bn was appropriated for in the 2019 general elections; and that N100 billion for 2023 is insufficient.
The INEC boss said the proposed N100bn was the first tranche for the 2023 general elections.
According to Yakubu, INEC is making efforts with the Ministry of Finance to increase the proposed sum for the 2023 general election.
According to Yakubu: “We are already in touch with the Federal Ministry of Finance on the additional requirements for the 2023 general elections.
Either we come to the National Assembly to defend the budget before the committee or we would do what we did in 2019 when the executive just submitted the proposal to the National Assembly and we came to defend it.
We would need more money because we’ve expanded our polling units and we are introducing new technology for elections among many other new innovations. The number of registered voters will increase beyond the 84 million for the 2019 general elections.”
