Exclusive: Approving INEC budget for 2019 election without signing Electoral Act , fraudulent  lawmakers say

President Muhammadu Buhari

 

 

Lawmakers are warning that approving the budget submitted by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) for the 2019 election could lead to a high level of embezzlement, should President Muhammadu Buhari fail to sign the amended Electoral Act,  Frontline News Online can exclusively reveal.

 

The expression of worry among lawmakers comes as the 30-day constitutionally stipulated time for the bill to be signed into law ends by Sunday.

Deepening tension around the signing of the bill is the fact that, Buhari will today depart for China to participate in the 7th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) scheduled to hold September 3 – 4, 2018 in Beijing.

Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara

A source in the Joint National Assembly Committee on Electoral Matters, told Frontline News Online, that the feelers reaching the committee is that the President is not disposed to signing the bill into law and this will practically render the work done by the electoral body and the National Assembly useless.

 

According to the source, the thinking among lawmakers, which enjoys the backing of other stakeholders in the electoral process is that, since a large chunk of the planned expenditure for the 2019 election is to be used for legalizing the use of smart card readers, approving INEC’s N143.3 billion budget without the President signing the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, could only make huge sums available for mismanagement.

 

The Electoral Act as amended, stipulates that the electronic smart card reader be used to accredit voters. This is as the act stipulates that the presiding officer counts the votes, announces the result of the election and instantly transmit the votes and results by a secured mobile electronic communication to the collation centre.

 

On the part of the National Assembly,  its Joint Committee on Electoral Matters  had on Tuesday, adopted N143.5 billion as the budget for the polls and asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to forward a breakdown for the sum.

Following its meeting with INEC, the panel again reviewed the items in the budget, cutting the final figure down by N2002.2 million.

INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakub

Chairman of the committee, Senator Suleiman Nazif said on Thursday, that the N143.3bn is to be sent to the National Assembly Joint Committee on Appropriations for further legislative work and transmission to the Senate and the House for the final approval.

 

 

In the initial budget submitted by INEC to the Joint Committee on Electoral Matters, N27.5 billion is for election technological costs. There is N22.7 billion for administrative cost and N4.6 billion for miscellaneous expenditure.

 

It eventually endorsed N143.3 billion for the polls on Thursday.

 

 

Frontline News Online sources said it would be highly disappointing is President Buhari fails to sign the Electoral Act before jetting out today.

 

He said: “If you look at the budget we have been working on a large percent of the money to be spent is for making the card reader the most important gadget on election day.

 

“Remember that in the proposed law, where the smart car reader fails, INEC can even postpone the election to the next day in order to use card reader to accredit voters.

 

“The act also allows for transfer of results electronically and because of all of these, you see that a large percentage of INEC’s expenditure as submitted to the committee has to do with purchasing or upgrading software, hardware and training those who will handle this process.

 

“If the Electoral Act doesn’t get signed, then let’s  remove all those items added to make the card reader an integral part of the election process and you will see that budget go down by a big percentage”.

 

“If we go ahead to approve this budget without the act, we just might be making billions available for some people to enrich themselves. We are the ones that do oversight on the budget and so I know what I am taking about”, the source added.

 

Another source who is privy to the debate among members of the joint committee stressed that beyond approving money that could be embezzled, in the situation the president doesn’t sign the bill into law, lawmakers want a level playing ground in 2019.

 

“It’s true we are worried that we shouldn’t be approving this large amount with the Electoral Act unsigned. We might eventually capitulate to the pressure from the public, since what we are appropriating is public funds.

 

“But what now happens to the reforms we hoped that the Electoral Act as amended would bring?  More than anything politicians, including my colleagues want to win or lose squarely and the card reader is essential to a credible electoral process”, he explained.

 

Afenifere, PDP call for act to be signed…..

 

Meanwhile, the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has led the calls for Buhari to append his signature to the Electoral Act.

 

National Chairman of party,  Mr. Uche Secondus called on the President to immediately sign the Electoral Act amendment without further delay.

 

This is as the Yoruba Social cultural organisation, Afenifere condemned the failure of the President to take action almost a month after the bill was transmitted to him.

 

Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said that the failure of the President to assent to the Act in good time should raise sufficient alarm about what is going on about the 2019 election.

 

Odumakin in a telephone chat with The Daily Times said: “Clearly, less than six months to the election we are yet to have Electoral Act. “The President is the chairman of ECOWAS, section 201 of ECOWAS Protocol says that no member state shall alter its electoral laws six months to election except all stakeholders agree. We are less than six months to election, the President has not signed the Electoral Act, and all we are hearing is that there are fears that there will be manipulation of results.

 

“Personal interest is now overriding general and national interest and Nigerians should raise sufficient alarm about what is going on about the 2019 elections.

 

But Daily Times also reports,  the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, saying that the final copy of the Electoral Act amendment bill is being “scrutinised thoroughly” by President Buhari.

 

Enang dismissed allegations that the President has refused to sign the bill, saying “there is no cause for alarm”.

 

“The bill was transmitted to the President for assent on August 2, after the corrected version was passed by the National Assembly on July 24.” The President has 30 days from the date of receipt to assent to or decline the bill and that 30 days will elapse on Sunday, September 2nd.

 

“We will do the needful before the bill expires. “The final clean copy of the bill which was received by President Muhamamdu Buhari on the 2nd of August, 2018, is still undergoing thorough scrutiny by the President.

 

“Mr. President has not vetoed the bill. What some people are not aware of was that when the second copy was received after the initial rejection, it was discovered that there were typographical errors which the National Assembly needed to correct and they did it and sent it back on the 24th of July and this is still being studied before presidential assent.

 

“It is good for people to cross check their facts first before feeding the public with the wrong information. As you know, the President embarked on a 10-day leave soon after we submitted the bill to him, so we should wait”, he added.

 

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