Jega wants more money Author(s): Godwin Akanfe Attahiru Jega, the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Wednesday, decried under funding of the agency, saying it was a big threat to its operations. Speaking at the quarterly meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja, Prof. Jega said that in spite of its enormous responsibility to the nation, the commission was not getting adequate funding. “It is a very challenging task indeed, because a lot of the activities require funds and budgetary provisions,” he said. “:egrettably, we don’t always get what we need all the time to be able to address the challenges. There is the need to fund INEC properly for it to be able to carry out its functions; poor funding is a big threat to INEC’s operations.” The INEC boss said the commission would continue to engage government and the lawmakers, to have more resources to be able to improve the working conditions and other needs to make its job satisfactory. He, however, stressed that INEC could not afford any delay in the execution of its programmes toward 2015 general elections. The chairman said the activities of the electoral body required that the trend be reversed in good time for effectiveness and efficiency of the commission. He said that in spite of challenges facing the commission, “remarkable progress” had been recorded under his stewardship due to the hard work of the RECs at their various states. He commended them for doing “a good job” and challenged them to keep working toward improving the democratic integrity of the country. “The energy, sacrifices and challenges you have to contend with in your various areas of assignments would not go unnoticed, but the Almighty God will continue to assist you all,” he said. “I urge you all to keep focused, remain incorruptible, non-partisan, unbiased and work within the legal frame work.” Prof. Jega said as the nation moved toward 2015 elections, there would be series of criticism and unpleasant accusation by gladiators from the various political arenas. “It is natural that in the kind of environment we operate, we will not please everybody,” he said. “If we take a decision and one side is happy, in most cases the sides that are not happy will always lose their senses. They will throw all sorts of things at us, and often display a tendency of throwing the baby away with birth water; that is the nature of the country’s political terrain.’’ The meeting, attended by RECs across the states a
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 16:01:16 +0000
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