The Federal Government has earmarked N135.22bn in the 2026 budget for election-related legal disputes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The provision, titled “Electoral Adjudication and Post-Election Provision,” was detailed in the House of Representatives Order Paper dated March 31, 2026, as part of the Appropriation Bill report.
The allocation is housed under Service-Wide Votes—a centrally managed funding pool used to cover obligations not tied to any specific ministry, department, or agency.
This category typically funds multi-agency expenditures, unforeseen liabilities, and national commitments requiring flexible budget handling.
The N135.22bn allocation signals the government’s expectation of significant financial obligations arising from post-election litigation, settlements, and administrative processes.
Further breakdown shows the provision falls within Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) charges, with total CRF allocations standing at N3.70tn.
The electoral adjudication fund alone accounts for approximately 3.65% of that segment.
The allocation comes alongside a larger N1.01tn statutory transfer to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the 2026 fiscal plan.INEC remains the largest beneficiary under statutory transfers, receiving about 21% of the total N4.80tn allocation to constitutionally backed institutions.
Statutory transfers are first-line charges on the CRF and are released directly to agencies such as INEC, the National Assembly, and the National Judicial Council, ensuring operational independence from executive control.
Earlier, INEC disclosed it would require N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections, alongside an additional N171bn for its 2026 operational costs.
The proposed N873.78bn marks a sharp increase compared to the N313.4bn spent on the 2023 general elections.
Notably, the N135.22bn electoral adjudication provision appears as a new budget line, absent from earlier versions of the 2026 fiscal proposal.