The Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has queried the conflicting figures presented by the Commission and President Muhammadu Buhari on the 2019 elections budget.
At a budget defence session on Wednesday in Abuja, the committee wondered why the President’s approach to the release of funds for the conduct of the election, was different from that of the electoral body.
It would be recalled that Buhari had on July 17, 2018 presented a N242 billion budget proposal for the conduct of the next General Elections.
Out of this amount, he said the Commission needed N189,207,544,893 for the exercise. He, however, asked lawmakers to approve the amount in two tranches: N143,512,529,455 in 2018 and the balance of N45,695,015,438 for 2019.
But appearing before the Suleiman Nazif-led panel on Wednesday, INEC Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu said the sum of N189 billion should be approved in one fell swoop.
The committee, however, said it would interface with the commission for the next three days before concluding on whether to adopt the President’s approach or the Commission’s.
“It is important for us to note that there are some observations that were raised by distinguished senators in the cause of this budget defence, which are very germane. And these observations are: that based on what Mr President sent to the National Assembly, he sent supplementary of N143 billion (for 2018). And what we have here presented by you is N189 billion. So, we will have an opportunity by tomorrow (Thursday) to sit down once again to try to see how we can reconcile and come up with one formidable budget.
“At the same time, there was also an observation that the format being presented for this budget would have to be done again because there is the need for us to present to the Appropriation Committee and we have a format,” Nazif said.
Also contributing, another member of the committee, Mohammed Hassan (PDP, Yobe State) said the panel was in a fix on which of the proposals to adopt.
He said: “I think what this committee is trying to do is to be able to help the Commission to do the right thing. The conflict is this: Mr President has clearly said it in his letter that the component of N45 billion would come in the 2019 budget. So, the conflict is: which one should this committee consider? Is it the N143 billion as presented by Mr President or the N189 billion presented by INEC?”
In his response, Yakubu explained that the proposals presented by the President and the Commission are the same.
“I think this clarification needs to be made because the session here will be reported. INEC requested for N189 billion, the Executive requested for exactly the amount that INEC asked for; only that it has come in two components: 2018 and 2019. So, there is no conflict between what is submitted by the Executive and what is proposed by INEC,” Yakubu said.
Breakdown of the Commission’s proposal include: Election Operational Cost N134.4 billion, Election Technological Cost N27.5 billion, Election Administrative Cost N22.6billion and Miscellaneous Expenses N4.6 billion.
There have been intense calls for the National Assembly to reconvene from annual recess to approve the 2019 election budget.
The sitting of the INEC Committee seemed to have laid to rest allegations by the All Progressives Congress, the Presidency and Pro-Buhari lawmakers that Senate President Bukola Saraki had refused to approve the President’s request.
With the ongoing budget defence by the INEC Committee, other agencies are expected to appear before the relevant Senate Committees to defend their proposals, as the speedy passage has suffered a serious setback.
Other agencies that are expected to appear before the relevant committees for their election budgets include the Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Defence and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as well as Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
