The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has disclosed that the commission is taking steps to improve the remuneration and welfare of its workers ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan said INEC personnel were among the lowest-paid workers in the country, stressing that better pay was necessary to enable them to effectively discharge their responsibilities.
He spoke on Tuesday in Abuja while presenting the commission’s preparations for the 2027 elections at a World Press Conference.
According to the INEC chairman, the commission had begun implementing measures aimed at improving staff welfare and strengthening accountability within the organisation.
“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,” Amupitan said.
He explained that the commission had taken what he described as “some very radical steps” to prioritise the welfare of its personnel.
Amupitan said INEC had also moved away from the conventional civil service salary structure, noting that the commission now operates under a distinct electoral and salary framework.
“We are not called civil servants. What we have learned 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,” he said.
The INEC boss added that the commission had identified several weaknesses within the electoral system and was working to address them.
“There are many others that we have discovered. And we felt that if they address all, it will be able to solve some of the problems we have with the system,” he said.
On the possibility of rerun elections after the 2027 polls, Amupitan said INEC was already making adequate preparations, stressing that reruns were provided for under the Constitution.
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“The issue of rerun is a constitutional matter. And as we are planning for the election, you have to plan for a rerun,” he said.
He added that the commission had procedures and protocols in place for conducting rerun elections in accordance with constitutional provisions.
