INEC begin preparation for 2019 election
- INEC defended its 2017 supplementary budget at the House of Representative
- The commission's chairman said it has started preparation for 2019 elections
- It said the idea of using National ID cars for voting was not feasible for 2019
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that it has already begun preparation for the 2019 general elections
The Punch reports that Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who is the chairman of INEC made this revelation when he addressed the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja on Monday, February 13 to defend the commission’s 2017 budget.
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Yakubu said the commission did not want to be pressed for time which was why it started preparation early.
He said a strategic plan is on ground to fine-tune the financial implication of the elections.
The committee is chaired by Mrs. Aisha Dukku who is a member of the All Progressives Congress from Gombe State.
The INEC chief revealed that the plan was being discussed in the executive branch
He explained that “part of the plan was to work out the budget for the elections, beginning with a supplementary request to be submitted to the National Assembly later in the year”
“At this point, we cannot put a figure on the budget for the elections (2019) until we complete the process of validating the strategic plan.
“Therefore, we are likely to approach the executive and the National Assembly for supplementary budget in this 2017.
“The supplementary aspect should incorporate something for the elections and in 2018, we will have it in the main proposals.”
“Apart from Anambra State, where there will be a governorship election, there are no numerous elections.”
Some members noted that INEC was submitting a supplementary budget rather than a full one
Mrs. Betty Apiafi, said: “There are usually issues with supplementary budget and the delays.
“I wish you would have started this (full budget) with the 2017 budget.”
He was asked to clarify on the issue of using the National Identity card for the 2019 election and he said it was not feasibly as the vice president office was still harmonising the data.
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Yakubu said: “That there was a policy direction on bringing all the agencies with individual data bases together to harmonise them with the national ID Card.”
“That process has not been concluded.
“INEC today has the largest data base in the country with 70million registered voters.
“That is a huge figure, much larger than when you talk about the population of many African countries put together.”
Source: Legit.ng
