Economy
INEC Seeks N1.04trn for Off-Cycle, 2027 General Elections
By Adedapo Adesanya
With the date for the 2027 elections announced, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is seeking around N1.04 trillion to cover off-cycle polls, preparations for the general elections, and its operational expenses.
The funding request was presented by INEC Chairman, Mr Joash Amupitan, during his appearance before the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Electoral Matters last week, where he defended the commission’s proposed budget.
Mr Amupitan appealed to lawmakers to approve the estimates and ensure that funds are released promptly and in full, cautioning that any delay could disrupt preparations for forthcoming elections.
A breakdown of the proposal shows that N873.778 billion is earmarked for the 2027 general election, while N171 billion is projected for the commission’s 2026 activities, including several off-cycle elections scheduled for this year.
He explained that the 2026 operational allocation would fund the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council polls, by-elections set for this week, and the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections scheduled for June and September, respectively.
The INEC chairman said the N873.778 billion proposed for the 2027 polls would be distributed as follows: N379.748 billion for operational expenses, N92.317 billion for administrative costs, N209.206 billion for technology, N154.905 billion for capital expenditure related to elections, and N42.608 billion for miscellaneous items.
For 2026, he said N109 billion is projected for personnel costs, N18.7 billion for overheads, N42.63 billion for election-related activities and N1.4 billion for capital projects.
Mr Amupitan noted that the election budget was prepared in accordance with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates that funding proposals for general elections be submitted at least one year in advance.
He criticised the envelope budgeting system, describing it as incompatible with INEC’s responsibilities, which often require swift financial intervention. Under the envelope budgeting model, once funds assigned to a particular category are exhausted, spending in that category stops, even if resources remain available elsewhere.
“The nature of our work demands prompt access to funds,” he said, urging the immediate disbursement of approved allocations.
The chairman also pointed to the absence of a dedicated communication network as a major operational gap, arguing that establishing an independent system would strengthen transparency and accountability.
“If we have our own network, Nigerians can hold us responsible for any hitch,” he said.
In response, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, the Senator representing Edo North, maintained that no government agency should impose restrictive budgeting methods on INEC, given the sensitive and strategic nature of its mandate.
He advocated setting aside the envelope system for the commission to prevent operational setbacks.
Mr Billy Osawaru, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, argued that INEC’s budget should be placed on first-line charge, as stipulated by the Constitution, to enable the commission to access its full allocation at once for effective planning and execution.
The joint committee adopted a motion recommending a one-time release of INEC’s yearly budget and also agreed to review the commission’s request for increased allowances for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members deployed for election duties. The proposal, estimated at N32 billion, would provide N125,000 per corps member.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Mr Simon Lalong, assured INEC of legislative backing, pledging collaboration to ensure that all prerequisites for the 2027 general election are fulfilled.
Similarly, Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Mr Bayo Balogun, promised the commission the support of lawmakers but warned against overpromising.
He referenced assurances made by a previous INEC leadership regarding real-time uploads to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV).
“The last INEC made it look as if Nigerians would be watching election results on IREV like television, meanwhile, IREV was not even provided for in the Electoral Act, but only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” he warned.
Business Post reports that INEC officially fixed February 20, 2027, for Presidential and National Assembly elections, while the governorship and state assembly elections will hold two weeks after the presidential election, on March 6, 2027.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was down by 2.48 per cent on Friday, June 19, with the Unlisted Security Index shedding 108.36 points to close at 4,252.73 points compared with the previous day’s 4,361.09 points.
During the trading day, the market capitalisation of the OTC securities exchange dropped 2.18 per cent or N67.29 billion to settle at N2.552 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s N2.609 trillion.
The alternative stock market was in the red yesterday after finishing with three price losers led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N8.57 to trade at N77.77 per share versus the preceding day’s N86.34. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N8.19 to quote at N170.00 per unit compared with the previous session’s N178.19 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc crashed by 26 Kobo to end at N2.51 per share versus N2.77 per share.
Business Post reports that there were also three price gainers during the session, led by Golden Capital Plc, which chalked up 67 Kobo to sell at N13.67 per unit versus N13.00 per unit. Afriland Properties Plc gained 65 Kobo to trade at N16.85 per share compared with the previous price of N16.20 per share, and MRS Oil added 3 Kobo to close at N142.23 per unit versus N142.00 per unit.
The volume of trades was up by 20.3 per cent on Friday to 954,106 units from 792,835 units, and the number of deals increased by 75 per cent to 35 deals from 20 deals, while the value of transactions went down by 12.9 per cent to N42.7 million from N49.0 million.
The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 67.8 million units exchanged for N4.7 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock exchange remained in the red on Friday after it further depreciated by 0.62 per cent due to panic sell-offs in some bellwether equities.
NAHCO lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N148.50, Royal Exchange depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N1.53, GTCO slumped by 9.97 per cent to N115.55, First Holdco dropped 9.84 per cent to quote at N55.00, and Neimeth slipped by 9.60 per cent to N28.12.
On the flip side, Deap Capital increased by 9.89 per cent to N4.89, RT Briscoe expanded by 9.62 per cent to N13.10, International Energy Insurance advanced by 7.43 per cent to N5.06, Jaiz Bank gained 7.14 per cent to sell for N9.00, and Living Trust Mortgage Bank rose by 5.26 per cent to N4.00.
During the session, the energy index chalked up 2.35 per cent, but this was not enough to lift the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm to signify the close of trading activities.
This was because the banking sector lost 4.41 per cent, the insurance counter shed 1.52 per cent, the industrial goods space declined by 0.71 per cent, and the consumer goods segment tumbled by 0.13 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,463.45 points to 235,941.27 points from 237,404.92 points, and the market capitalisation retreated by M939 billion to N151.327 trillion from N152.266 trillion.
The activity chart was topped by Access Holdings, which posted a turnover of 65.0 million shares valued at N1.5 billion. Zenith Bank sold 35.2 million stocks worth N3.9 billion, Sterling Holdings exchanged 28.4 million equities for N217.8 million, UBA transacted 16.3 million shares valued at N650.7 million, and GTCO traded 14.0 million stocks worth N1.8 billion.
In all, investors transacted 440.4 million equities for N24.7 billion in 50,273 deals, in contrast to the 691.6 million equities valued at N116.9 billion traded in 50,025 deals on Thursday, implying an uptick in the number of deals by 0.50 per cent, and a decrease in the trading volume and value by 36.32 per cent and 78.87 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira again depreciated against the United States Dollar by N7.16 or 0.53 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 19, to N1,370.46/$1 from the previous day’s N1,363.30/$1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency lost N9.07 against the Pound Sterling at the official market yesterday to trade at N1,814.76/£1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,805.69/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N6.43 to settle at N1,571.50/€1 versus N1,565.07/€1.
Also, the Naira weakened against the greenback in the black market during the session by N5 to sell for N1,390/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,385/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it shed N3 to close at N1,376/$1 versus N1,373/$1.
The official market’s FX liquidity has been facing pressure over the last three trading sessions, contributing to a decline in the official exchange rate due to rising demand for foreign payments.
FX reserves rose to $51.03 billion, the highest level since January 20, 2009, according to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The figure also represents the highest since the beginning of the year and under the administration of the current Governor of CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso.
The latest figure underscores the steady strengthening of Nigeria’s external buffers, which continues to reinforce investor confidence in the Nigerian economy and support exchange rate stability.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was mixed, with Bitcoin (BTC) up by 0.8 per cent to $63,225.80 after trading activity was relatively subdued due to a US federal holiday, as the absence of stock and bond market activity led to quieter conditions across crypto markets, even though digital assets continue to trade around the clock.
Further, TRON (TRX) also gained 0.8 per cent to sell at $0.3230, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.5 per cent to $579.84, and Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.1 per cent to $1,704.23.
On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.9 per cent to $1.13, Cardano (ADA) shed 0.8 per cent to trade at $0.1611, Solana (SOL) fell by 0.1 per cent to $69.23, and Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 0.1 per cent to $0.0831, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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