08-21-2018, 09:52 AM
COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AT THE END OF A ONE DAY ROUND TABLE ON THE 2019 ELECTIONS BUDGET EMPASSE ORGANISED BY THE INDEPENDENT SERVICE DELIVERY MONITORING GROUP (ISDMG) ON MONDAY 20TH AUGUST , 2018 AT THE ISDMG OFFICE , ABUJA.
INTRODUCTION
On August 20, 2018, Stakeholders drawn from different interests who cover the Civil Society, the political class, the media and citizens among others converged on the invitation of the Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group at a Roundtable to review the implications of 2019 elections Budget impasse between the National Assembly and the Executive as the general elections draw near and to enable INEC adequately prepare for the 2019 General Elections in Nigeria.
After robust discussions based on the following allegations;
1. That the budget proposal from Presidency is not same as the INEC proposal.
2. That Police feeding/Per diem was inserted into the budget when they have their own budget and costs.
3. That 700 million naira was budgeted for foreign observers
4 That situation room, outreach activities will cost 587 million naira.
5. That Logistics will cost: 7.4b among others
6. Generally, the allegations of deliberate padding of the INEC budget, inflated rates and that the budget was submitted late by the President in a bid to avoid election.
Stakeholders made observations, identified challenges, and reached resolutions and recommendations as follows:
OBSERVATIONS
• That the Executive delayed the budget that was submitted to it since January, 2018 by INEC.
• That the logjam regarding the INEC Budget is unacceptable and unnecessary as the Executive ought to have submitted the budget to the National Assembly long before now.
• That this is the first time that INEC is bringing its budget to the National Assembly and open for public scrutiny.
• That this is in line with the on-going reforms along the electoral value chain as championed by Professor Mahmood Yakubu?s led team
• That the exchange rate differentials between 2015 and 2019 necessitates the increase in the volume of the current budget.
• That the number of voters and political parties that will participate in the 2019 elections has increased as evidenced by the on-going CVR and the registration of new parties (as at today, there are 91 political parties in Nigeria).
That the concerns on the budget amount and line items are unfounded; such as
That the concerns on the budget amount and line items are unfounded; such as
The 6B provision for feeding of policemen during the election period;
This allegation is false as there is no such provision in the budget at all. What the budget item has is 4.6b (exactly ?4, 689,996,100.00) for feeding allowance paid to security and election personnel at N1, 000 per head for two days ( 2x 1000=2000) and is fully explained and justified in line 26 of the budget proposal.
We note that ?1,000 is a token allowance per official for 2 elections (Presidential and NASS on February 16 and Gubernatorial and State Assembly and FCT Area Councils on 2nd March)
It covers the 180,000 polling units and voting points, 8809 ward collation centers, and 1558 constituency collation centers involving over a million personnel for two elections including provisions for possible run-off elections.
That Ad hoc staff alone is about 1.3m, and does not include INEC main staff, police, DSS, Civil Defence, Soldiers among others. This is not the first time it is done and is without prejudice to the duty tour allowance for all security personnel handled through their various agencies. Nigerians have forgotten that the immediate former Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had to defend a similar provision before the 2015 General Elections
That 700m is provided to cover the cost for foreign observers. ;
This again is false as there is no fee for foreign observers but a provision for their accreditation, briefing and procurement of kits, ID Cards, jackets, folders, stickers for their vehicles and copies of INEC regulations, guidelines and manuals.
This is the standard practice worldwide. Importantly, INEC is not paying for their hotels, transport, and security guides etc
It should be on record that thousands of observers will converge on Nigeria during this period some of whom are long-term observers who will come earlier and stay long after the election,
That Nigerian business (hoteliers, transporters, internet service providers, language translators etc) will benefit from their patronage.
That the kits, publications and identity cards will be produced in Nigeria and Nigerian businesses will benefit from it.
That there is a discrepancy between what INEC submitted and what the president transmitted to the NASS;
We note that there is no discrepancy between the budget INEC submitted and what the President proposed in the budget.
INEC submitted a budget of ?189.2 billion and defended it before the executive, the president satisfied with this proposal sent same to the leadership of the NASS for appropriation.
The president in his submission, proposed the mode of disbursement of the amount i.e. ?143.5 billion in 2018 supplementary budget and ?45.7 billion in the 2019 budget. The sum total is ?189.2 billion. There is no discrepancy whatsoever.
That aside logistics for the elections, clear provisions were made for the following;
Situation Rooms will be activated nationwide in all the States and FCT for state collation and declaration of results and the National Collation Centre located at the ICC in Abuja. Provision has to be made for national and international media and observers, internet connectivity, screens, meeting and briefing rooms etc. Again, this is standard practice nationwide.
Nigerians and commentators should not forget so easily, that after the September, 2016 Edo Governorship election, many observers and the media complained of the small size of the declaration centre in the INEC office in Benin City and even insinuated that it was done deliberately to deny access to some people? Learning from that, INEC provide better facilities in Ondo, Anambra and Ekiti elections?
A similar provision was made in the 2007, 2011 and 2015 General Elections. Nigerians may not be aware of these details because this is the first time ever that the details of election budget is submitted to NASS, defended by INEC and open to scrutiny by citizens.
It is important at this point to note that the provision for logistics took into account the sheer size of the country and the sensitivity of conducting elections in almost 120,000 polling units, involving 1,558 constituencies located in various terrains requiring a combination of land and water transportation for delivery of personnel and materials.
That the possibility of some elections being repeated cannot be ruled out given the disruptive behavior of our politicians as evidenced by the just concluded bye elections in Kogi and Rivers states. We condemn the actions of the Police and other security agencies that were used by unscrupulous politicians to disrupt the elections thereby putting the lives of INEC staff and citizens in danger. This is bizarre, shameful, embarrassing, disgraceful and condemnable. We however, commend INEC for taking quick measures to suspend the election so as to protect the integrity of the election.
CHALLENGES
One of the greatest challenges facing INEC is unnecessary politicking by National Assembly members on matters concerning appropriation for INEC and also bottlenecks and delays by the executive.
Why is the Executive presenting the INEC budget to the National Assembly at this late hour?
Inaccurate, Sensational reportage and deliberate promotion of falsehood by a section of the media has helped in no small way to aggravate this logjam.
The use of thugs and irresponsible police and other security personnel to harass citizens, INEC officials and disruption of elections portrays Nigeria in bad light before the international community.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLU SIONS
The Round Table having discussed, observed and identified the above challenges, we recommend the following;
A. that the National Assembly as a matter of National and public interest passes the INEC budget in order not to jeopardise preparations for the 2019 elections. All forms of intrigues and politics associated with the budget should cease immediately for national interest and good.
B. We commend the openness of the budget process and urge INEC to continue with this practice.
C. We recommend that INEC continues to be proactive by submitting their budget proposal in good time in a transparent and open manner.
D. That suspension of elections where there are infringements and security breaches as was done in the Rivers state constituency bye-election to protect lives and property and the integrity of the electoral process and elections should now be the norm.
E. All perpetrators of election violence must be severely punished according to the law to serve as deterrent to others.
F. We recommend an urgent need to review the appropriation process especially when it involves the needs of INEC knowing the importance and role the Commission plays in the stabilisation of our democracy.
G. We note the hard fact that the INEC budget is not like contracts that can be hidden from public purview as activities of INEC are open and easily verifiable by citizens, stakeholders and in fact, any interested party. We recommend, therefore that this should be encouraged and ask that Nigerians should support INEC as it strives within the ambits of integrity to conduct credible, free and fair elections in Nigeria.
The allegations of budget padding draws from mischief or an inadequate appreciation of the issues involved, therefore ,we recommend that all parties should strive to verify issues and INEC should operate an open door policy for these clarification.
We recommend also that stakeholders should utilize the quarterly stakeholders dialogue by the INEC Chairman to seek for information and clarify issues.
Signed:
1. Dr Chima Amadi ISDMG
2. Faith Nwadishi Centre for Transparency Advocacy
3. Abdul Mahmud Public Interest Lawyers League
4. Comrade Sheriff Mulade Center for Peace and Environmental Justice
5. Okechukwu Nwanguma NOPRIN
6. Ezenwa Nwagwu Partners for Electoral Reforms
7. MacDonald Ekemezie KIF
8. Joseph Olarinde Yoruba Revolutionary Assembly
9. Olufemi Lawson Centre for Public Accountability
10. Babatunde Oluajo Centre for Transparency Advocacy
11. Comrade Anthony Osagbemi Citizens Centre Democratic Governance
12. Darlington Edem Network for Good Governance
13. Nkasi Ikonne Gender Connect
http://thepunditng.com/groups-back-inec-on-budget-decry-electoral-violence/
INTRODUCTION
On August 20, 2018, Stakeholders drawn from different interests who cover the Civil Society, the political class, the media and citizens among others converged on the invitation of the Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group at a Roundtable to review the implications of 2019 elections Budget impasse between the National Assembly and the Executive as the general elections draw near and to enable INEC adequately prepare for the 2019 General Elections in Nigeria.
After robust discussions based on the following allegations;
1. That the budget proposal from Presidency is not same as the INEC proposal.
2. That Police feeding/Per diem was inserted into the budget when they have their own budget and costs.
3. That 700 million naira was budgeted for foreign observers
4 That situation room, outreach activities will cost 587 million naira.
5. That Logistics will cost: 7.4b among others
6. Generally, the allegations of deliberate padding of the INEC budget, inflated rates and that the budget was submitted late by the President in a bid to avoid election.
Stakeholders made observations, identified challenges, and reached resolutions and recommendations as follows:
OBSERVATIONS
• That the Executive delayed the budget that was submitted to it since January, 2018 by INEC.
• That the logjam regarding the INEC Budget is unacceptable and unnecessary as the Executive ought to have submitted the budget to the National Assembly long before now.
• That this is the first time that INEC is bringing its budget to the National Assembly and open for public scrutiny.
• That this is in line with the on-going reforms along the electoral value chain as championed by Professor Mahmood Yakubu?s led team
• That the exchange rate differentials between 2015 and 2019 necessitates the increase in the volume of the current budget.
• That the number of voters and political parties that will participate in the 2019 elections has increased as evidenced by the on-going CVR and the registration of new parties (as at today, there are 91 political parties in Nigeria).
That the concerns on the budget amount and line items are unfounded; such as
That the concerns on the budget amount and line items are unfounded; such as
The 6B provision for feeding of policemen during the election period;
This allegation is false as there is no such provision in the budget at all. What the budget item has is 4.6b (exactly ?4, 689,996,100.00) for feeding allowance paid to security and election personnel at N1, 000 per head for two days ( 2x 1000=2000) and is fully explained and justified in line 26 of the budget proposal.
We note that ?1,000 is a token allowance per official for 2 elections (Presidential and NASS on February 16 and Gubernatorial and State Assembly and FCT Area Councils on 2nd March)
It covers the 180,000 polling units and voting points, 8809 ward collation centers, and 1558 constituency collation centers involving over a million personnel for two elections including provisions for possible run-off elections.
That Ad hoc staff alone is about 1.3m, and does not include INEC main staff, police, DSS, Civil Defence, Soldiers among others. This is not the first time it is done and is without prejudice to the duty tour allowance for all security personnel handled through their various agencies. Nigerians have forgotten that the immediate former Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had to defend a similar provision before the 2015 General Elections
That 700m is provided to cover the cost for foreign observers. ;
This again is false as there is no fee for foreign observers but a provision for their accreditation, briefing and procurement of kits, ID Cards, jackets, folders, stickers for their vehicles and copies of INEC regulations, guidelines and manuals.
This is the standard practice worldwide. Importantly, INEC is not paying for their hotels, transport, and security guides etc
It should be on record that thousands of observers will converge on Nigeria during this period some of whom are long-term observers who will come earlier and stay long after the election,
That Nigerian business (hoteliers, transporters, internet service providers, language translators etc) will benefit from their patronage.
That the kits, publications and identity cards will be produced in Nigeria and Nigerian businesses will benefit from it.
That there is a discrepancy between what INEC submitted and what the president transmitted to the NASS;
We note that there is no discrepancy between the budget INEC submitted and what the President proposed in the budget.
INEC submitted a budget of ?189.2 billion and defended it before the executive, the president satisfied with this proposal sent same to the leadership of the NASS for appropriation.
The president in his submission, proposed the mode of disbursement of the amount i.e. ?143.5 billion in 2018 supplementary budget and ?45.7 billion in the 2019 budget. The sum total is ?189.2 billion. There is no discrepancy whatsoever.
That aside logistics for the elections, clear provisions were made for the following;
Situation Rooms will be activated nationwide in all the States and FCT for state collation and declaration of results and the National Collation Centre located at the ICC in Abuja. Provision has to be made for national and international media and observers, internet connectivity, screens, meeting and briefing rooms etc. Again, this is standard practice nationwide.
Nigerians and commentators should not forget so easily, that after the September, 2016 Edo Governorship election, many observers and the media complained of the small size of the declaration centre in the INEC office in Benin City and even insinuated that it was done deliberately to deny access to some people? Learning from that, INEC provide better facilities in Ondo, Anambra and Ekiti elections?
A similar provision was made in the 2007, 2011 and 2015 General Elections. Nigerians may not be aware of these details because this is the first time ever that the details of election budget is submitted to NASS, defended by INEC and open to scrutiny by citizens.
It is important at this point to note that the provision for logistics took into account the sheer size of the country and the sensitivity of conducting elections in almost 120,000 polling units, involving 1,558 constituencies located in various terrains requiring a combination of land and water transportation for delivery of personnel and materials.
That the possibility of some elections being repeated cannot be ruled out given the disruptive behavior of our politicians as evidenced by the just concluded bye elections in Kogi and Rivers states. We condemn the actions of the Police and other security agencies that were used by unscrupulous politicians to disrupt the elections thereby putting the lives of INEC staff and citizens in danger. This is bizarre, shameful, embarrassing, disgraceful and condemnable. We however, commend INEC for taking quick measures to suspend the election so as to protect the integrity of the election.
CHALLENGES
One of the greatest challenges facing INEC is unnecessary politicking by National Assembly members on matters concerning appropriation for INEC and also bottlenecks and delays by the executive.
Why is the Executive presenting the INEC budget to the National Assembly at this late hour?
Inaccurate, Sensational reportage and deliberate promotion of falsehood by a section of the media has helped in no small way to aggravate this logjam.
The use of thugs and irresponsible police and other security personnel to harass citizens, INEC officials and disruption of elections portrays Nigeria in bad light before the international community.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLU SIONS
The Round Table having discussed, observed and identified the above challenges, we recommend the following;
A. that the National Assembly as a matter of National and public interest passes the INEC budget in order not to jeopardise preparations for the 2019 elections. All forms of intrigues and politics associated with the budget should cease immediately for national interest and good.
B. We commend the openness of the budget process and urge INEC to continue with this practice.
C. We recommend that INEC continues to be proactive by submitting their budget proposal in good time in a transparent and open manner.
D. That suspension of elections where there are infringements and security breaches as was done in the Rivers state constituency bye-election to protect lives and property and the integrity of the electoral process and elections should now be the norm.
E. All perpetrators of election violence must be severely punished according to the law to serve as deterrent to others.
F. We recommend an urgent need to review the appropriation process especially when it involves the needs of INEC knowing the importance and role the Commission plays in the stabilisation of our democracy.
G. We note the hard fact that the INEC budget is not like contracts that can be hidden from public purview as activities of INEC are open and easily verifiable by citizens, stakeholders and in fact, any interested party. We recommend, therefore that this should be encouraged and ask that Nigerians should support INEC as it strives within the ambits of integrity to conduct credible, free and fair elections in Nigeria.
The allegations of budget padding draws from mischief or an inadequate appreciation of the issues involved, therefore ,we recommend that all parties should strive to verify issues and INEC should operate an open door policy for these clarification.
We recommend also that stakeholders should utilize the quarterly stakeholders dialogue by the INEC Chairman to seek for information and clarify issues.
Signed:
1. Dr Chima Amadi ISDMG
2. Faith Nwadishi Centre for Transparency Advocacy
3. Abdul Mahmud Public Interest Lawyers League
4. Comrade Sheriff Mulade Center for Peace and Environmental Justice
5. Okechukwu Nwanguma NOPRIN
6. Ezenwa Nwagwu Partners for Electoral Reforms
7. MacDonald Ekemezie KIF
8. Joseph Olarinde Yoruba Revolutionary Assembly
9. Olufemi Lawson Centre for Public Accountability
10. Babatunde Oluajo Centre for Transparency Advocacy
11. Comrade Anthony Osagbemi Citizens Centre Democratic Governance
12. Darlington Edem Network for Good Governance
13. Nkasi Ikonne Gender Connect
http://thepunditng.com/groups-back-inec-on-budget-decry-electoral-violence/