NIGERIA (Abuja)- The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has revealed that the commission will need N92.9 billion to execute the 2015 General Election.

Jega disclosed this during the stakeholders’ forum organized by the Senate Committee on INEC in collaboration with Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) Abuja and United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) Nigeria on Monday in Abuja, adding that elections may not hold in some part of the north should security challenges persist there.

The INEC boss noted that in preparing for the 2015 elections, one guiding principle for the commission has been to make elections more cost-effective and to give Nigerians better value for money.

 “Our estimate is that the cost of the election per voter, which is an international standard for viewing the cost of election, is coming down in Nigeria.

“We project that for the 2015 elections this would come further down by almost $1- from $8.8 in 2011 to $7.9, representing almost a 10 per cent drop.

“This compares favourably with some other African countries. However, we are anxious about ensuring that all our funding requirement being met well in advance of the 2015 general elections.”

Jega added that preparation is getting to the peak for the forthcoming election.