The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) has provided the bulk of the cash it requested to pay critical service providers during Saturday’s election amid the naira scarcity.
This was confirmed on Thursday in Abuja by the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, during a press conference on the commission’s activities 2 days before the presidential and National Assembly elections.
This is coming a few weeks after Yakubu had complained to the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, that the conduct of the upcoming election might be hampered by a lack of cash for logistical operations when they both met.
The cash facilitated the movement of sensitive materials
- Yakubu said, “The bulk of the small amount of cash that we have requested from the Central Bank of Nigeria is right now being released to the commission’s offices nationwide.
- “In fact, a substantial part of it has already been received by our offices nationwide and this has greatly facilitated the movement of sensitive materials yesterday from the branches of the Central Bank to our local government areas.
- “By tomorrow, we’ll batch them and then move them on Friday to the registration area centres. And then on Saturday early morning, they’ll be moved to the polling units for voting.”
INEC has fully recovered from attacks on its facilities
On the issue of security surrounding the elections, Yakubu assured all stakeholders of a conducive environment for the electoral process to take place.
The INEC boss, in December 2022, noted that the commission had suffered 50 attacks in 15 states since 2019.
He, however, pointed out that the commission has bounced back and the security agencies are on the ground for the elections to provide adequate protection for voters, staff and observers.
- He said, “Several of the commission’s facilities were attacked by unknown assailants in various parts of the country.
- “I am pleased that we have fully recovered from these attacks and we have been further assured that our facilities, staff, voters, observers, the media, and citizens will be safe during the election.’’
For catch up
- There have been concerns that the ongoing naira scarcity may affect the payment of persons providing logistics services for INEC during Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.
- The INEC Chairman in a meeting with the CBN Governor on February 7, 2023, complained about the challenge the commission is facing due to the naira redesign policy which has caused cash scarcity, noting the unique role of cash in the payment of services during the exercise.
- Yakubu said that most of the logistics services that would be needed in the elections would be rendered by the unbanked, and would rely on cash payment.
- Emefiele, however, assured the Commission that because of the premium the CBN placed on the elections, the CBN will make whatever is needed available for INEC to pay for its logistics.