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Poor funding of INEC, threat to democracy � Guobadia
Ibanga Isine, Port Harcourt
The Independent National Electoral Commission on Tuesday warned that undue reduction of funds meant for electoral purposes could provoke coup d�etats.
Speaking at a retreat for electoral officers and stakeholders in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, INEC Chairman, Dr. Abel Guobadia, listed rejection of election results, foreign intervention in a nation�s internal affairs and political upheavals as other consequences of poor electoral budgets.
Guobadia, who also unfolded the commission�s strategic plan (2004�2007), said that it was imperative for all stakeholders to understand that the preparations for every poll determine its success or otherwise.
He said, �Cutting cost unduly may result in double costs and other dire consequences when an election runs into trouble. Election troubles can range from rejection of election results; political upheavals; foreign intervention or even dictatorships/coups.�
Arguing that, �adequate preparation requires a good financial input,� the INEC boss recalled that, �parsimony in allocation and the late release of budgeted grants hampered the smooth conduct of the 2003 general elections.�
He, therefore, asked the Federal Government to ensure the prompt release of adequate funds to the commission.
He said that the hiccups encountered by INEC in 2003 should be avoided in the run-up to the 2007 poll.
Guobadia specifically blamed the Federal Ministry of Finance for the current financial crisis facing INEC.
The commission, according to him, requested for N800 million in 2004 but received N7 million for its overhead charges.
He explained that upon the receipt of the N7 million, INEC immediately alerted the Federal Government but regretted that every further effort to get the Ministry of Finance to review the case had proved futile.
He said that up till now, the ministry had not acknowledged receipt of any of the letters written to it by the commission and had also refused to honour requests for discussion on the matter.
The INEC boss said, �The ministry by its silence and inaction gives the impression that our case is worthless. We think that the financial requirements of the commission should be taken more seriously and not downplayed.
�We cannot continue like this. We consider it too much for that ministry to treat the commission�s affairs with such levity and contempt.�
Guobadia explained that the overheads remained the only grants for financing the day- to- day operations of what he called, �vast election machinery� of the commission in the Federal Capital Territory, the 36 states, and 774 local council areas in the country.
Apart from a full-time chairman, 12 full-time national commissioners, 37 full-time resident electoral commissioners and over 7,000 permanent staff, Guobadia said the commission had 500,000 ad hoc staff on stand-by.
The ad hoc staff, he said, were often used to conduct bye-elections and recall referendums .
He said that debts had become sources of embarrassment to the commission and its officials.
�The commission is heavily indebted to several landlords, counsel who have handled various election petition cases and supplies of basic stationery and other consumable office materials.
�Our rent liabilities stand at over N180 million and debts to counsel and litigation expenses are over N314 million, while our current indebtedness to vendors who supplied essential materials runs into tens of millions.�
Guobadia added that harassment by the creditors and threat by some of them to sue the commission had affected the core electoral duties of electoral officers.
As part of reforms demanded by major stakeholders in the nation�s electoral process for 2007 poll, two draft bills would soon be forwarded to the National Assembly, he said.
The draft bills, which Guobadia said would contain major constitutional and legal reforms, would also be presented to all the political parties for their input.
The INEC chief attributed the reforms to many factors, including worries expressed by stakeholders, lapses in the 1999 constitution and a court judgment that the Electoral Act 2002 was improperly passed into law.
He listed some of the efforts made by the commission to improve the country�s electoral process and management, saying that even with the modest efforts the commission had made, a lot still remained to be done.
The PUNCH, Wednesday, October 20, 2004.
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