6 hours Ago By Gift Habib
The Independent National Electoral Commission is hopeful that the increased funding in the 2025 budget will enable it to address the growing need for timely by-elections across the country. This optimism was expressed by INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during his briefing with the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters.
The committee had invited INEC in February 2025 to provide an update on the status of pending by-elections, which have been delayed due to funding constraints. In January 2025, INEC proposed the sum of N126bn for its 2025 budget. Yakubu, made the presentation while defending the 2024 budget implementation before the National Assembly.
He pleaded with the National Assembly to approve the 2025 budget which is nearly three times the size approved last year. According to a document made available by the commission to The PUNCH on Sunday, Yakubu explained that while the commission faces significant challenges in planning for by-elections; largely due to their unpredictable nature and frequent occurrence, the substantial increase in the 2025 budget allocation is expected to resolve some of these issues. He noted that the 2024 budget, which only covered INEC’s personnel costs, lacked provisions for conducting by-elections, leaving the commission in a difficult position despite the National Assembly’s approval of a supplementary budget in 2023 to cover nine bye-elections in February 2024.
Related News IWD: INEC pledges commitment to gender equality in electoral process Pro-Wike lawmakers issue new ultimatum, warn Fubara UPDATED: Tinubu appoints ex-INEC boss, Jega as adviser on livestock reforms However, with the improved financial allocation in the 2025 budget, the INEC Chairman assured the Committee that as soon as the Appropriation Bill is passed and cash-backed, the commission will swiftly release a timetable for the pending by-elections. “Prof Yakubu informed the committee that since 3rd February 2024 when the nine bye-elections were conducted, vacancies have been declared in 16 more constituencies across 12 states. But there was no provision for the bye-elections in the commission’s 2024 budget that covered only its personnel cost and social contributions.
“He reminded the committee that during the commission’s 2024 budget defence, the INEC team drew the attention of both the Senate and House of Representatives to the financial constraint, which however remained unchanged despite the best efforts of all concerned. “The INEC Chairman said with the noticeable increase in the funds appropriated to the commission in the 2025 budget, as soon as the Appropriation Bill is passed into law and cash-backed, the commission would promptly release the timetable and schedule of activities for the bye-elections in two senatorial, five federal and nine state constituencies,” the document read. These elections are for 16 constituencies across 12 states, which are home to over 3.
5 million registered voters, spread across 359 Registration Areas and 7,003 polling units. Yakubu also raised concerns about the recurring issue of bye-election funding, noting that many vacancies arise from preventable causes such as death, resignation, and absenteeism. He stressed the need for legislative reform to address these frequent elections, reduce their costs, and explore alternative ways of filling vacancies.
By creating a more efficient and predictable process, the INEC Chairman believed that the burden of frequent bye-elections could be eased, ultimately improving the overall electoral system..
