INEC budget: Senate may reconvene next week, says Yakubu. John Alechenu and Theophilus Onojeghen
The National Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has said the commission has received assurances that the Senate could reconvene as early as next week to consider its budget for the 2019 elections.
Yakubu said this while responding to questions from journalists after a meeting with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in the Senate building in Abuja, on Wednesday.
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He also noted that the 2019 election was 191 days away and as such all hands needed to be on deck to ensure smooth elections.
He said “The most important thing to say is INEC was invited to meet with the National Assembly leadership on how the proposed budget for the 2019 elections can be speedily considered and appropriated by the National Assembly.
“We have been assured of speedy passage of the budget perhaps as early as next week, N242bn is the total amount proposed”
Speaking in a similar vein, the Senate Minority Whip, Senator Philip Aduda, (PDP, FCT), said, “We agreed that if need be, we will resume considering the virement request and we are agreeing we will fix a date to discuss this budget and ensure passage.”
Earlier, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had promised that he, along with his colleagues, were prepared to do what it would take to ensure that the 2019 elections went on smoothly. He explained that the initial plan was for the leadership of the National Assembly to meet with the INEC chairman to discuss what the commission’s needs were and find ways of passing it.
He, however, said the invasion of the National Assembly by operatives of the Department of State Services stalled the initial plan.
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