The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof Mahmud Yakubu said the 2019 general elections will be the most expensive in Nigeria’s history.

Prof Yakubu said yesterday during a budget defence session for the 2019 elections funds with members of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters that the commission needs N189 billion for the conduct of the elections.

He said the amount is N69 billion higher than the entire expenditure for the 2015 elections, which cost N120bn, representing an increase of about 58 per cent.

Daily Trust had on August 3 exclusively reported that the 2019 general elections were set to be Nigeria’s most expensive.

The INEC chairman said the increase was necessitated by a number of factors, including additional political parties, increased number of registered voters, among others.

“From today we have exactly 184 days to the opening of polling units on Saturday, February 16, 2019.

“I wish to draw the attention of this committee to a very important thing. Compared to N120bn that the 2015 elections cost, we’re now proposing N189.2bn.

“For 2015, we had 70 million voters. But now we have 82m registered voters. This will increase because of the additional period for registration that we added. So, there is addition of about 17.1 per cent compared to 2015.

“Second, the number of political parties then was 40, but we now have 91. The size of the ballot papers would increase and the quality and colour won’t be the same. That means additional cost.

“As part of the cost, we have to monitor political parties’ congresses, primaries and conventions, which also mean additional funding.

“Processing nominations from political parties is another thing. We have to process about 70,889 nominations for the elections if all parties nominate candidates.

“This time around, the logistics is higher because pump price of petrol is higher now. Some of the components are in US Dollars, so it would have an impact going by the current exchange rate compared to the 2015 elections.

“The FCT area councils’ elections would be coming at about the same time with the general elections, so that means additional cost because we need more hands for the elections and ballot papers among others,” the INEC chairman said.

Giving the breakdown of how the N189.2bn would be spent, Prof Yakubu said N134.4bn would be for election operations cost; N27.5bn for election technological cost; N22.6bn for election administrative cost and N4.6bn for contingency/miscellaneous.

Lawmakers raise concerns over increasing elections budget

At the session, some senators raised concerns over the increased elections expenditure by the commission.

Sen Isa Hamma Misau (PDP, Bauchi) demanded to know why the commission’s elections budget has been on the rise over the years, noting that the electoral umpire keeps purchasing certain equipment like vehicles for every election.

Responding, Prof Yakubu said, “Much of the cost we pay for elections is because of lack of trust. Why must we print ballot papers to currency quality and give to the CBN to keep? It’s all because of lack of trust.

Sen Mohammed Hassan (APC, Yobe) expressed concern that while President Muhammadu Buhari in his letter of request for the election budget said the sum of N143.512bn should be approved for INEC under this year’s budget and another N45.7bn under the 2019 budget, the electoral umpire was demanding for the total amount at once.

But the INEC chairman said, “I’m not sure there’s a conflict. In terms of the totality of figure, I don’t think there’s any conflict because if you add everything together, it will give you the N189bn.

“Our preference is for the sum of N189bn to be appropriated. But as to the nitty-gritty, that is between the National Assembly and the Executive,” he said.

Chairman of the committee, Suleiman Nazif demanded to know why there is a separate N5.1bn for continuous voter registration (CVR) in the elections budget when an amount was earlier approved for the commission for the same purpose under the regular budget.

Prof Yakubu said ýbecause CVR is done almost on daily basis all year round, the amount approved for it in the 2018 budget was grossly inadequate and that due to the need to register more eligible voters ahead of elections, there was need for additional fund.

N6bn needed to feed police personnel on election duties

At the House of Representatives, ýthe sum of N6bn to feed policemen on electoral duty was contested by the lawmakers.

Wole Oke (PDP, Osun), said, “It is important that we look into the estimates and reconvene later to discuss.”

Rima Shawulu (PDP, Taraba) and Timothy Golu (PDP, Plateau) drew attention to the repetition of most of the items in the budget, especially with the expenditure for the feeding of security personnel as well as the provision for hiring of vehicles for security personnel.

In his response, Prof Yakubu said the feeding of security officials on election duty is very crucial since there is similar provision for ad hoc staff.

He added that the commission does not envisage any postponement of the 2019 general elections.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/why-2019-elections-will-be-nigeria-s-most-expensive-inec-265966.html

Ok

They had better start delisting all these mushroom and bedroom parties being set up on a daily if their existence will keep putting undue strain on our scarce and meagre resources.

We should be having tops 4 parties, just in case we need the usual regional bullock...

check out my siggy to the irregular migrant's story of perils, triumphs and karma.

mr integrity indeed

Rima Shawulu (PDP, Taraba) and Timothy Golu (PDP, Plateau) drew attention to the repetition of most of the items in the budget, especially with the expenditure for the feeding of security personnel as well as the provision for hiring of vehicles for security personnel.


E be like say de want to do another padding again o

Barawo...!

Buhari just want the money to pay for votes across the South and Middle belt where nobody in his rights senses would vote for him.

Even when Jonathan was buying lots of gadgets such as Laptops n Card Readers the budget was not even half of this huge amount.

How much would the whole Africa need to conduct elections if it were just a country..? Awon Ole....

APC looking for money to rig .

Buhari's is old and senile. Keep anything and he'll sign it. It's called dementia associated with old age..

Buhari is aged and suffers from Alzheimer's related dementia..this condition limits his thinking and cognizance.

Can you employ a CEO with such condition to run your company? Then why let him run our country?

Is sane climes people like him are kept in elderly people's home where they're taken care of..
But in Nigeria he is being pushed by some selfish individuals to keep contesting even though age is failing him and be barely even remembers anything..

How can such man be trusted with our collective destiny?

People like Tinubu who has wicked ambitions are supporting him not because they're convinced he is doing well but because they want the fastest route to the throne..

You people should go and tell Buhari that he must stand in for a debate this time around.. not in 2015 when he had to hide away..he must stand and tell us what his manifesto is and how he wants to achieve them.

Lol, we spend billions to brings in our destructors and democracy rippers, what an irony

CLASSMAN:
mr integrity indeed

stale

EmekaMD:
Buhari's is old and senile. Keep anything and he'll sign it. It's called dementia associated with old age..

Buhari is aged and suffers from Alzheimer's related dementia..this condition limits his thinking and cognizance.

Can you employ a CEO with such condition to run your company? Then why let him run our country?

Is sane climes people like him are kept in elderly people's home where they're taken care of..
But in Nigeria he is being pushed by some selfish individuals to keep contesting even though age is failing him and be barely even remembers anything..

How can such man be trusted with our collective destiny?

People like Tinubu who has wicked ambitions are supporting him not because they're convinced he is doing well but because they want the fastest route to the throne..

You people should go and tell Buhari that he must stand in for a debate this time around.. not in 2015 when he had to hide away..he must stand and tell us what his manifesto is and how he wants to achieve them.

What section of the constitution says he must stand for a debate
Are you ever objective??

Sen Isa Hamma Misau (PDP, Bauchi) is not very smart, deluded and a crook. He sitted and asked a very unintelligent question. I mean, how can a senator question the reason INEC produce 'currency quality' ballot paper, and keep it safely in the CBN before it is distributed across the nation. The dumb senator wants INEC to produce a very poor quality ballot paper so that they can reproduce it and rig themselves in with it. He also want INEC to trust maybe him or the senate with the safekeeping of sensitive materials. PDP is a perpectual election rigging platform but they should forget it, the days of rigging is gone. Buhari till 2023

I hope they will be able to defend their outrageous budget because it will be well scrutinized in the senate under the leadership of senate president Saraki .

Matters arising

4601CE:
What section of the constitution says he must stand for a debate
Are you ever objective??

why would u want him sheilded from debates? He had to prove that he's worth our votes come 2019

If Buhari doesn't give me atleast 4million naira, I'm voting PDP...

EmekaMD:
why would u want him sheilded from debates? He had to prove that he's worth our votes come 2019

Speak for yourself and your family .
Wtf is “our”

4601CE:

Speak for yourself and your family .
Wtf is “our”

of course "our" we the Nigerian people.
I'm not speaking for people like you who were imported from Chad and Niger jus to thumb print and go back..