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The Independent National Electoral Commission has come under scrutiny following its request for ₦126bn for its 2025 operations, a non-election year.
INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, on Friday, said that the umpire would require about N126bn to fund its activities in 2025 and begin preparation for the 2027 general elections.
Mahmood stated this at the National Assembly Complex while defending the 2025 budget proposal before the Joint Committee on Electoral Matters.
Reacting, a former Senator who represented Taraba State, Abubakar Yusuf, described the budget as excessive and questioned the rationale behind such a significant amount being allocated when no major elections are scheduled.
Yusuf, who spoke on Channels TV’s Politics Today, on Friday argued that INEC’s inefficiency in managing political parties and ensuring credible primaries contributes to unnecessary litigation and inflated costs.
He emphasised the need for the commission to enforce stricter oversight of political parties to reduce financial waste.
According to the senator, if INEC ensured that party primaries were conducted transparently and fairly, the cost of managing elections and related processes would be drastically reduced.
“With full management, #126bn is too much because it is not an election year. Although we know costs have changed, but looking at it critically; if INEC should stamp their feet on managing the political parties, they do not need this much amount.
“They are playing on the psychology of the government. They even talked about envelope and I have always been questioning this issue of envelope. How on earth would you budget before you plan? What is the requirement of INEC that they only be given an envelope? So long you budget before you plan, there would be an abuse of resources here and there.
“If parties are serious, standing on their feet and trying to do what is right, I am telling you, INEC will spend less money. I still insist that INEC must stand on its feet and make sure the primaries; what the political parties are presenting to INEC are subject to less litigation,” he explained.
The senator also criticised INEC’s justification for the high budget, which includes infrastructure development, preparation for the 2027 elections, and other administrative costs.
He questioned the logic of budgeting two years ahead for an election and suggested that the request might be a strategy to secure higher funding than necessary.
Moving beyond INEC, Yusuf highlighted broader issues of governance and fiscal responsibility, particularly the fight against corruption.
He criticised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for its focus on prosecuting offenders and recovering stolen funds instead of prioritising prevention.
He argued that this reactive approach has done little to curb corruption and pointed to the limited recovery of $52m out of an alleged $2.5bn in looted funds as evidence of the inefficiency of this strategy.
The senator also accused the EFCC and the government of failing to address the role of the banking system in facilitating looting.
He emphasised that all major financial crimes pass through the banking system, yet regulatory measures to prevent such activities have been insufficient.
“Right from 2003 when the EFCC Act was made, a lot of us have spoken about it. Go for protection, go for prevention, give priority to prevention so that people cannot cannot have the capacity to loot money.
“But somehow it was not understood that way by the people who operated the EFCC. They went for prosecution and recovery. That is why up till now nothing much has been out of the $2.5bn, it is only $52m.
“The recovered money is a federation money It is not Federal Government money. It will go to the federation account,” he added.
In addition to these concerns, the senator addressed the management of recovered loot, criticising the conditions imposed by foreign nations, such as the United States, on how the funds should be spent.
He argued that such funds, like the Abacha loot, should be deposited directly into Nigeria’s federation account and used at the discretion of the government.
He described the involvement of external entities, such as the World Bank, in managing these funds as a violation of Nigeria’s sovereignty and a reflection of the lack of trust in the country’s governance.
Yusuf further called for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s security approach to tackle rising insecurity, particularly in the northeast.
Reacting to recent reports of terrorist activities in Borno State and other regions, the Senator highlighted issues such as poor motivation, lack of proper equipment, inadequate training, and insufficient intelligence as major factors undermining the effectiveness of the country’s armed forces.
He lamented the lack of synergy between various branches of the military, stating that better coordination between the air force and ground troops could have yielded more effective results in combating insurgents.
