The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has said he may boycott the 2027 general election if the welfare and remuneration of personnel of the Independent National Electoral Commission remain inadequate.
Sowore also called for a minimum wage of N500,000 for INEC employees, maintaining that fair compensation was necessary to strengthen the credibility, independence and integrity of the electoral process.
The AAC candidate made the demand in a post on his verified X handle on Tuesday, following remarks by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, that workers of the electoral commission were the least-paid employees in the country.
Sowore argued that electoral officials saddled with the responsibility of conducting elections should not be expected to uphold the integrity of the process when their own welfare and working conditions were being neglected.
“No decent wages, no credible elections,” he declared.
He maintained that INEC personnel should earn at least N500,000 as a minimum wage, stressing that credible elections must begin with decent conditions of service and a living wage for those responsible for administering them.
Sowore subsequently warned that he would support INEC workers in boycotting the 2027 elections if the authorities continued to disregard their demands for better welfare.
“If these workers continue to be treated with contempt, I will join them in boycotting the 2027 elections,” he said.
He further stated that INEC employees were entitled to organise themselves and seek better conditions of service, including pursuing lawful industrial action where necessary.
The AAC candidate’s comments came after Amupitan spoke on Tuesday during a presentation on the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general elections in Abuja.
The INEC chairman disclosed that personnel of the commission were the lowest-paid workers in Nigeria, adding that steps were already being taken to improve their welfare.
Amupitan said improved remuneration was important to ensuring that INEC officials could be held accountable for their responsibilities and perform their duties effectively.
“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 said the commission had introduced what he described as “some very radical steps” aimed at placing the welfare of its workforce higher on its agenda.
According to him, INEC had also been taken out of the conventional civil service payment framework, a move that would allow the commission to establish distinct structures for electoral administration and staff remuneration.
“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.
Amupitan explained that the measures formed part of broader efforts to correct deficiencies within the electoral system and strengthen INEC’s operations ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said the commission had identified a number of gaps requiring attention and expressed optimism that addressing them would help resolve some of the persistent difficulties associated with the conduct of elections.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission was making arrangements for possible rerun elections as part of its preparations for the 2027 polls.
He described rerun elections as a constitutional requirement, stressing that INEC must factor them into its 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 set out the procedures and protocols governing the conduct of rerun elections.
