17th August, 2018
The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Friday in Abuja, said the commission had no prepared budgetary allocation for international observers coming to monitor the 2019 general elections.
Yakubu disclosed this in Abuja while reacting to questions on the INEC budget submitted to the National Assembly for its consideration.
It would be recalled that some Civil Society Organisations including the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), had frowned at the INEC’s budget for the 2019 general elections.
HURIWA described the INEC’s budget as “fraudulent, criminal and highly unsustainable.
“The N4.614 billion classified as miscellaneous expenses is fraudulent and must never be approved just as the win components of N134.427 billion for election operation cost and N22.660 billion for election administrative cost are duplication meant to conceal the cash that would inevitably be siphoned.’’
The non-government organisation added “the budget for payment of foreign observers lacks credibility and should be discarded.”
However, the INEC chairman insisted that there was no such budget for the international observers as being peddled in some quarters.
He said: “I have had this question that we have prepared budget for international observers, there is no such thing. There is no line in the budget for international observers.
“What we have provided for are the kits, you know the jackets, caps, publication, that we give to international observers, the stickers that are fixed on their cars to be identified on Election Day.
“This is the standard practice. Each country that organises elections provides these facilities for those who monitor elections.
“But their accommodation, transportation will be borne by various election monitoring groups and not by the Nigerian government.’’