President Bola Tinubu has allocated ₦1.01 trillion to INEC ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections. The big question is: what exactly is INEC spending ₦1 trillion on?
Beyond papers, ballot boxes, those cheap ballot stamps, logistics for moving materials, and payments to ad-hoc staff and personnel, What justifies such an outrageous sum? Are new BVAS machines being procured? Even if they are, ₦1trillion to conduct an election that will most likely still be riddled with rigging, credibility issues, and endless litigations is absurd.
This money neither guarantees effectiveness nor efficiency. It does not inspire confidence in the electoral process. To be blunt, this looks less like election funding and more like a scheme for sharing, looting, and perfecting rigging operations.
Working in INEC, NNPC, and even the judiciary has now become one of the most lucrative corners of Nigeria’s civil service. These institutions are hardly ever audited in any meaningful way. It is free money, as long as you are willing to do the dirty job.
