By Haruna Salami
The Senate Committee on Appropriations has resolved to do everything humanly possible to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure it conducts credible elections in 2023.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Barau Jibrin (Kano North) stated this Wednesday when the Chairman of Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Ibrahim Kabiru Gaya presented its report to the main Appropriation Committee.
INEC Committee, which was the first to submit its report to the main Appropriation Committee said the electoral body was allocated N50 billion by the executive arm of government.
Senator Gaya told the Appropriation Committee that the INEC Committee decided to retain that sum, but came with a request for additional fund for the electoral body because of the rising cost of items and the devaluation of the naira.
“After careful scrutiny, our committee decided to retain the N50 billion and due to the fact that prices of things have changed, and the value of the naira to the dollar has depreciated, INEC are therefore requesting for additional funds from this committee to be able to conduct elections peacefully.
“Therefore, we are appealing to this committee to look for every possible way of increasing this budget’, Gaya said.
It will be recalled that INEC is on first line charge, but the Appropriation Committee said with the fear in some quarters about the 2023 elections holding, it “must do all that is necessary to ensure INEC is not handicapped”.
Chairman of Appropriation, Barau Jibrin said “if INEC gets it right, our democracy will the better for it” and wanted to know the quantum of intervention INEC needed, but Gaya said the details will be brought later.
Senator Gaya told the Appropriation Committee that INEC was ready for work, adding that “the Senate Committee and it counterpart in the House of Representatives are together on this matter.
Appropriation Committee then commended the INEC Committee for “a straight forward, concise and well packaged report”.
