The National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters has approved N143 billion instead of 189.2b for the 2019 general elections.
The committee members, after a meeting at the National Assembly, rejected the earlier version of N189.2bn, a combination of the N143bn and another N45.6bn proposed to be from the 2019 budget. They insisted that they won’t approve anything beyond N143bn.
The chairman of the joint committee, Senator Suleiman Nazif, made this known after about 30 minutes’ joint session on Monday in Abuja. He asked the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to appear before it on Tuesday by 1p.m. to present its budget afresh to reflect N143bn rather than the N189bn earlier submitted.
“It is the wish of this committee that INEC re-present their budget of N143bn as requested by Mr. President. INEC has the opportunity to re-prioritise, and this committee will be ready to receive their report tomorrow.
The INEC chairman had presented a proposal of N189bon to the Senate Committee on INEC and requested its approval at once. It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had, in a letter dated July 11, also requested the National Assembly to approve the sum of N189bn for the 2019 General Elections.
However, he requested the National Assembly to approve N143.52bn in the form of virement from the 2018 Budget. He added that the balance of N45 billion would be included in the 2019 Budget. However, INEC presented a budget of N189 billion, requesting that it be approved as a lump sum by the National Assembly.