2019: NASS ADOPTS N143BN BUDGET FOR INEC

The politics around the budget for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for the conduct of the 2019 general elections is yet to be over. Some members of the National Assembly are still angry with the approval of N143 billion instead of N189 billion for the commission.

A member of the National Assembly joint committee on INEC, who canvassed for adoption of N189 billion instead of N143 billion for INEC, told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that opponents of the N189 billion defeated them at the closed-door session because of the greed of their colleagues.

The South-South Senator alleged that the lawmakers did not want to approve N189 billion for INEC because the balance of N45.6 billion had already been allocated for their projects in the additional projects they earmarked for themselves in the 2018 Appropriation Bill.

According to him, those against the N189 billion for INEC insisted that they  would do so since President Buhari was planning to deplete the N578 billion allocation the federal lawmakers earmarked for the 1,403 additional projects to N350 billion. The President had in a letter he forwarded to both chambers of the National Assembly last month, requested the lawmakers to vire the sum N228 billion from the N578 billion.

The lawmaker said that his colleagues from the Senate and the House of Representatives insisted that they would not allow for further depletion of the special votes with any N45.6 billiona