N’assembly Approves ₦143BN For 2019 Elections

About ₦143 billion has been approved by the national assembly joint committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)for the 2019 elections.

The amount approved by the body was presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to the legislature earlier in the year but they refused to approve ₦45.6bn proposed to be wired from the 2019 budget.

Buhari had requested in a letter he wrote to the senate, that ₦189.2 billion be released to INEC. According to him, ₦143.5 billion should be released this year and ₦45.6 billion in 2019.

Udoma Udoma, minister of budget and national planning, explained that Buhari requested the approval of ₦143 billion because he did not want an increase in the overall size of the 2018 budget.

According to him, if the joint committee wish to approve the entire ₦189billion without resulting into increase in the ₦9.12trillion 2018 budget size, so be it and would be appreciated by the executive.

“Mr President will have no objection to the national assembly approving the entire ₦189billion INEC budget as long as it does not in anyway, lead to increase in the overall size of the 2018 budget,” he had told the committee.

“If this is to be done, the ₦45.6billion the president in his letter proposed to be provided for in the 2019 budget, would also have to be vired along with the ₦143billion from the ₦578billion fund appropriated for in the 2018 budget by the national assembly for the additional 1,403 projects included in the budget.”

The budget consideration had divided the lawmaker along party lines as those in the All Progressives Congress (APC) argued for the approval of ₦189 billion while their Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterparts demanded that ₦143 billion be adopted.

After a closed-door session on Monday, Suleiman Nazif, chairman of the committee, said the panel explained why the budget was adopted.

He said the electoral body had been asked to return to the national assembly to present the budget.

“The joint committee sat and has come up with the resolution to adopt the ₦143 billion presented by Mr. President. It is also the wish of this committee that INEC present their budget of ₦143 billion as requested by Mr. President,” he said.

“Therefore, INEC has an opportunity to prioritise its expenditure on the ₦143 billion and this committee is ready to receive them tomorrow.

“This committee will be reconvening tomorrow (today) by 1pm so that we can consider the presentation by INEC.”