By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
PROPOSED N135Billion for election petitions in the 2026 Appropriation Bill has sparked sharp criticism from political parties and legal experts, raising questions about the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s preparedness and the scale of the allocation.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the provision, described as “Electoral Adjudication and Post Election Provision,” appeared in the House of Representatives Order Paper of March 31, 2026, which carried the report on the budget.
It was listed under Service Wide Votes, a centrally managed fund used to finance obligations not tied to any specific ministry, department or agency.
The fund covers expenditures across institutions, including national commitments and liabilities that cannot be assigned to a single entity.
The allocation also forms part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund charges, which stood at N3.70tn, with the electoral adjudication and post-election provision accounting for about 3.65 percent.
It also appears alongside a N1.01tn statutory transfer to INEC in the 2026 fiscal proposal as the Commission accounts for 21 percent of the total statutory transfers of N4.80tn.
The commission had earlier told the National Assembly it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections and N171bn for its 2026 operations.
However, the N873.78bn estimate is noted to exceed the N313.4bn released for the 2023 elections.
However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) questioned the justification for the allocation.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the provision suggests INEC is anticipating disputes and added that greater openness would “drastically reduce” post-election litigation.
“It means that INEC itself is anticipating that it will not do well and that people will not accept the outcome of the results. Because if INEC becomes very transparent, post-election litigation will be drastically reduced. It is the lack of transparency and the obvious opacity of INEC during elections that result in post-election litigation.
“However, INEC, in every election, is meant to be neutral. So, I am wondering what they are funding.”
He also questioned the need for extensive legal funding, stating that most lawyers should be in house while alleging that external counsel may be influenced by political interests.
However, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said it is normal for INEC to prepare for post-election litigation, noting that the commission is often joined in election related cases.
Speaking through its Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, however described the N135bn provision as excessive and questioned the basis for such a figure.
Lawyer Femi Falana also criticised the proposed expenditure, describing it as excessive and unjustifiable.
“It is on the very high side. Apart from the fact that INEC has its legal department that services all its offices in the 36 states of the Federation, INEC does not pay more than N3m per brief, even to a senior advocate. This is because INEC maintains a neutral position in the majority of pre-election cases.”
He said INEC was involved in fewer than 3,500 pre-election cases, election petitions and appeals in 2023.
“With the ouster of the jurisdiction of the courts in the internal affairs of political parties, the number of pre-election cases will be substantially reduced, and if INEC conducts credible elections, there may be few election petitions and appeals,” he said.
He added that overall spending on election litigation should remain lower than projected, stating that INEC may not spend up to N20bn on legal battles.
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