INEC Denies Lack of Funds for 2015 General Election
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied rumours that it has insufficient funds to conduct successful elections in 2015.
The commission’s chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, had reportedly said earlier that inadequate funding was a challenge that was threatening the conduct of the forthcoming elections.
The Chief Press Secretary to Jega, Kayode Idowu, has however cleared the air over the chairman’s comments, saying the commission has no reason to complain about funds.
He said that although the commission had support and cooperation from all the arms of government, all the funds needed to fully plan for the 2015 elections had not been released.
Idowu however said he believed the Federal Government would provide the remaining tools needed for the elections to be successful.
“What the INEC chairman said was that funds could be a threat to timely positioning. As it is well known, monies from budget are released in tranches, not wholesale.
“In 2011, we were not able to track down how much money political candidates expended in their campaigns toward the election. There were no structures in place to the tracking of political parties’ expenditures.
“I think a major positive note from the primaries conducted by various political parties is that the elections were largely successful without violence. Going forward, politicians should ensure that 2015 elections are devoid of violence. If they do, we are coasting home with the desired results.”