Nigeria to spend ₦873.8 bn on the 2027 general elections poll, 2.5 times the 2023 cost of ₦355.3 bn

  • The proposed 2027 election budget of ₦873.8 billion is the highest in Nigeria’s history.
  • The 2027 figure is 2.5 times higher than the ₦355.3 billion spent in 2023.
  • Election costs have increased every cycle since 1999.
  • Spending has grown from ₦32 billion in 1999 to ₦874 billion in 2027.
  • In dollar terms, the 2027 cost is estimated at about $625.9 million.
  • Nigeria has spent approximately ₦1.9 trillion—including the 2027 proposed cost—on elections since the start of the Fourth Republic.
  • Currency depreciation has influenced the dollar-equivalent fluctuations over time.

Nigeria’s elections are becoming significantly more expensive. The proposed ₦873.8 billion budget for the 2027 general elections shows a sharp leap. At 2.5 times the ₦355.3 billion spent in 2023, it represents the largest election allocation in the country’s Fourth Republic; in dollar terms, this is approximately $625.9 million.

From ₦32 billion in 1999 to nearly ₦874 billion proposed for 2027, the growth is extreme. Every election cycle since 1999 has cost more than the previous one. Even when converted to dollars, costs have remained high. These amounts are comparable to the annual budgets of some key sectors.

Source:

INEC, Vanguard Nigeria, The Guardian

Period:

1999-2027
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Click to copy HTML embed code
Tags
Related Insights
Incumbent governors in the PDP reduced from 16 in 2019 to 6 as of December 2025
  • APC increased its number of sitting governors from 19 in 2019 to 26 in 2025.
  • PDP saw a significant decline, dropping from 16 governors in 2019 to 6 by 2025.
  • APC’s share of governors rose from 52.8% in 2019 to 72.2% in 2025.
  • As of May 2023, after the 2023 general elections, 13 sitting governors were still members of the PDP, but by 2025, five of these governors had defected to the APC, one had defected to
  • Accord, and one lost an election in 2024 to the APC.
  • Smaller parties (APGA, NNPP, LP, and Accord) appeared intermittently, each holding a single governorship.
  • By 2025, Nigeria’s governorship landscape was the most one-sided in recent years, heavily dominated by the APC.
While Sudan records the highest coup attempts in Africa (18), West African nations account for 9 of the top 15 list
  • Sudan ranks highest in Africa with 18 coup attempts, the most in the continent since 1950.
  • Burkina Faso, Burundi, and Sierra Leone follow closely with 11 attempts each.
  • Ghana and Guinea-Bissau have each experienced 10 coup attempts, ranking among the top six.
  • West Africa remains the most coup-prone subregion, accounting for 9 of the top 15 coups in the region.
  • Africa has witnessed 226 coup attempts between 1950 and 2025.
  • Most coup-prone countries share traits like weak institutions, governance failures, and economic hardship.
Liberia tops Africa in political diversity with highest ENPP of 6.44
  • Liberia leads with an ENPP of 6.44, showing the strongest balance of party influence in Africa.
  • Morocco (5.68) and Tanzania (5.64) follow closely, reflecting vibrant multiparty political systems.
  • East Africa is well represented, with both Tanzania and Kenya among the top five.
  • Malawi’s ENPP of 5.19 highlights its robust political competition despite its smaller size.
  • Countries such as Gambia, Benin, and Comoros maintain a healthy level of party competitiveness, underscoring diversity beyond larger nations.
The U.S. holds the largest IMF quota at 82.99 billion SDRs, exceeding the combined shares of Japan and China
  • The United States holds the largest IMF quota by far, with 82,994.2 billion SDRs, accounting for 17.42%, more than double the quota of any other country.
  • Japan, China, and Germany follow as the next largest contributors, each holding between 5.5% and 6.5% of total quota shares.
  • European countries (Germany, France, the U.K., Italy) collectively maintain a strong presence, together accounting for nearly 17.21%, almost equal to the U.S. alone.
  • Emerging economies like India and Russia have relatively modest shares (2.75% and 2.71%, respectively) despite their growing roles in global economic affairs, indicating an imbalance between global influence and IMF voting power.
South west leads with Lagos recording 114 female candidates, while the North East trails with just 7 in Yobe
  • Lagos had the highest female representation in Nigeria’s 2023 elections, with 114 female candidates, more than any other state.
  • Yobe recorded the lowest, with just 7 female candidates, highlighting a wide disparity in representation across regions.
  • The South East and South South zones recorded some of the strongest numbers overall, with Imo (86) and Rivers (85) nearly matching Lagos.
  • The South West led overall in female candidate numbers, while the North East trailed, with its highest (Gombe – 42) still lower than other zones’ peaks.
Top 10 Countries with the Most Number of U.S. Troops
 
  • Japan, South Korea, and Germany collectively host approximately 75% of all U.S. troops stationed abroad.
  • Japan leads with 53K U.S. troops, followed by Germany (35K) and South Korea (24K).
  • The Indo-Pacific (77K) edges out Europe (58K), while the Middle East (5K) holds minimal footholds in regional priorities.
POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form
A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved