The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has defended the commission’s budget request of N126 billion for 2025, stating that N85 billion is allocated for personnel costs, with the remainder for electoral activities.
This request has faced public scrutiny, especially in a non-election year, but Yakubu clarified that INEC’s budget for 2024 is also N40 billion, the same as in 2025, despite increasing operational costs. Yakubu detailed that INEC employs about 15,000 permanent staff, supplemented by nearly one million ad hoc staff during elections to manage approximately 177,000 polling units across Nigeria.
He emphasized that a significant portion of the budget is dedicated to salaries and operational requirements.
Additionally, Yakubu reported that 774 electoral offenders from the 2023 general election are currently being prosecuted, with some successful prosecutions already noted in states like Kebbi and Kogi.
He highlighted the challenges faced in addressing electoral offences, including lengthy court processes and a lack of prioritization for such cases in the judicial system.
Collaborations with the Nigeria Bar Association and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have been established to expedite the prosecution of these offences.
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