The Senate Committee on Electoral Matters has proposed an additional N30 billion for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strengthen preparations for the 2027 general elections.
If approved, the increase would raise the total election budget from N873.78 billion to N903.78 billion. The committee explained that the extra funds are intended to improve logistics, enhance operational capacity, and address challenges associated with conducting nationwide elections.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu hosted members of the Senate at the Presidential Villa in Abuja for a Ramadan Iftar on Tuesday evening. The meeting, which began shortly after 6:30 p.m., combined religious observance with informal political discussions at a critical period in the national calendar.
The closed-door gathering provided an opportunity for strategic engagement between the executive and legislative arms of government. Vice President Kashim Shettima, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, and other senior officials were also in attendance. Although no official statement was released afterward, similar Ramadan meetings in the past have served to promote inter-governmental cooperation and national unity, particularly in addressing economic and security issues.
The President’s engagement with senators came less than 48 hours after he hosted state governors from across party lines for a similar Iftar, continuing a pattern of using the Ramadan period to encourage dialogue and consensus-building.
Separately, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba, renewed his call for urgent electoral reforms. Speaking in Lagos, he stressed the need for clear legal backing for the electronic transmission of election results to ensure transparency and credibility in future elections.
Agbakoba clarified the distinction between electronic voting and electronic transmission of results, noting that transmission simply involves making results publicly visible. He expressed concern that under the current manual collation system, results declared at polling units can be altered during transfer to ward, local government, and state collation centres.
According to him, although INEC has issued guidelines supporting electronic transmission, the lack of explicit provisions in the Electoral Act creates legal uncertainty. He referenced a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated reliance on INEC guidelines where such measures were not expressly provided for by law, thereby weakening the push for digital transmission of results.
