The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that its employees are the lowest-paid workers in Nigeria, a situation the commission is addressing as part of preparations for the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan made the disclosure on Tuesday during a World Press Conference in Abuja while outlining the commission's readiness for the polls. He said INEC had taken "some very radical steps" to prioritise staff welfare, including removing the commission from the civil service payment structure and adopting a separate salary arrangement.
The move, according to Amupitan, is tied to accountability expectations for personnel. "INEC staff are the least paid in Nigeria. So, we felt if we want to demand and hold our staff responsible, we should give them a living wage," he said.
Amupitan explained that INEC employees are not core civil servants, yet they had previously been placed under the civil service payment framework. He said the commission has now been removed from that structure to operate its own electoral and salary structure.
"We are not core civil servants, but we have been lumped under the civil service payment structure, which we have just removed INEC from, to have their own separate structure, electoral structure and a separate salary structure from the civil service," he said.
He described the changes as part of several gaps the commission identified in its effort to address challenges within the electoral system. "So, those are some of the gaps, there are many others, that we have discovered, and we felt that if they are addressed squarely, it will be able to solve some of the malaise we have with the system," Amupitan added.
On rerun elections, the chairman said the commission is making provisions for them within its 2027 planning because reruns are a constitutional requirement. "On the issue of rerun, it's a constitutional matter. And as we are planning for the election, you have to plan for a rerun," he stated.
The welfare review comes against the backdrop of significant funding requirements for the next electoral cycle. INEC earlier told the National Assembly that it needs N873.78 billion to conduct the 2027 general elections, along with N171 billion for operations in 2026. The proposed election budget is considerably higher than the N313.4 billion released for the 2023 elections.
