The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said the commission’s employees are among the least-paid workers in Nigeria, disclosing that steps have been taken to improve their welfare ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan made the statement on Tuesday in Abuja during a press conference and national stakeholders’ meeting where he discussed preparations for the upcoming elections.
According to the INEC chairman, better remuneration is necessary if the commission expects its personnel to properly carry out their responsibilities and be held accountable.
“INEC staff is 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.
He said the commission had therefore taken what he described as “radical steps” to prioritise the welfare of its workforce.
One of the measures, according to Amupitan, is the removal of INEC from the civil service payment structure, allowing the electoral body to operate under its own separate electoral and salary structure.
“We are not called civil servants. What we have learnt under the civil service payment structure, which we have just removed INEC from, is to have their own separate structure, electoral structure, and separate salary structure from the civil service,” Amupitan said.
He explained that the change was part of a broader effort to identify and address weaknesses within the electoral system.
The INEC chairman said the commission had discovered several gaps and believed that tackling them would help resolve some of the challenges affecting the electoral process.
“So, those are some of the gaps. There are many others that we have discovered. And we felt that if they address them, it will be able to solve some of the problems we have with the system,” he said.
INEC Makes Provision for Rerun Elections
Amupitan also addressed the issue of rerun elections, saying the commission must make provisions for them as part of its election planning.
He described reruns as a constitutional requirement rather than an unexpected development that INEC could ignore when preparing for elections.
“The issue of rerun is a constitutional matter. And as we are planning for the election, you have to plan for rerun,” he said.
According to him, the legal framework already provides the procedures and protocols that guide the conduct of rerun elections.
“So, it’s there, the procedure, the protocol, everything is there in the constitution,” Amupitan added.
The chairman’s comments come as INEC continues preparations for the 2027 general elections, with the commission working on personnel welfare and other institutional changes ahead of the polls.
