The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has threatened to boycott the 2027 general election if staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) continue to receive what he described as poor remuneration.
This was as Sowore also demanded a minimum wage of N500,000 for INEC workers, arguing that decent pay is essential to the credibility and integrity of elections.
The AAC candidate made the demand in a post on his verified X handle on Tuesday while reacting to a disclosure by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, that personnel of the electoral commission were the least-paid workers in Nigeria.
Sowore said electoral workers entrusted with administering elections should not be expected to protect the integrity of the process while being poorly compensated.
“No decent wages, no credible elections,” he declared.
He said INEC workers deserved a minimum wage of N500,000, stressing that electoral integrity should begin with decent working conditions and a living wage for those responsible for conducting elections.
Sowore further warned that he would join INEC workers in boycotting the 2027 elections if their concerns over their welfare continued to be ignored.
“If these workers continue to be treated with contempt, I will join them in boycotting the 2027 elections,” he said.
He also argued that INEC workers had the right to organise and demand improved conditions of service, including through lawful industrial action.
Sowore’s position followed comments by Amupitan on Tuesday during a presentation on INEC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections in Abuja.
The INEC chairman said the commission’s workers were the least paid in Nigeria, adding that the organisation had begun taking measures to improve their welfare.
According to Amupitan, better remuneration was necessary if INEC expected its personnel to remain accountable in the discharge of their responsibilities.
“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 disclosed that the commission had taken what he described as “some very radical steps” to prioritise the welfare of its personnel.
Amupitan also announced that INEC had been removed from the conventional civil service payment structure, paving the way for the commission to operate separate electoral and salary structures.
“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 chairman said the changes were part of efforts to address weaknesses identified within the electoral system and improve the commission’s operations ahead of the 2027 polls.
He said INEC had identified several gaps that needed to be addressed, expressing the view that resolving them would help tackle some of the challenges associated with the electoral process.
Amupitan also said the commission was making provisions for possible rerun elections as part of its preparations for the 2027 general elections.
He described rerun elections as a constitutional matter, noting that INEC had to make provisions for them while planning for the general elections.
“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 Constitution already provided the procedures and protocols for conducting rerun elections.
