INEC Seeks ₦74 Billion to Compile a Fresh Voters Register
Professor Attahiru Jega, INEC Chairman
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has declared that the 2011 elections might be jeopardized if the sum of ₦74 billion demanded by the Commission to compile a fresh voters’ register is not provided within two weeks.
He made the statement against the background of the dysfunctional state of the former voters register which, he said, made the compilation of a fresh list imperative.
The INEC chairman made the declaration during a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters at the National Assembly on Thursday. He noted that the current voters’ register was completely unreliable for any credible elections.
He made a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to grant a due process waiver on some stringent procurement processes to enable the commission procure the registration materials.
He said that even if the needed funds were provided in the next two weeks, it would take extraordinary effort by the commission to meet the deadline for next year’s polls.
He observed that it is obvious that time is very, very tight and that being a constitutional provision, it is a firm constraint on INEC.
He stated, “From the information we have before our hands, we are sure that a clean-up of the existing voters’ register would never lead to a credible election”, adding that “During our last retreat in Uyo, we took the existing voters’ register in electronic form and we spent a whole day taking samples from local governments across the States.
“Between 9am and 9 pm, we were able to cover 19 states and FCT. Having seen samples drawn from only 19 states, it was evident to us that the voters’ register as it stands today is to deeply flawed to be a credible basis for free and fair future elections,” he added.
Jega noted that the best option left to INEC for a genuine voters register would require shifting the dateline in the Electoral Act forward for INEC to gain additional time and sufficient funds provided.
He said that it would not be a perfect register as it will be done under tremendous pressure, but it would be much better than the current one.
He expressed satisfaction that National Assembly accepted the Commission’s proposal, saying that he has also met with President Goodluck Jonathan and the Minister of Finance to inform them of the option of a fresh voters’ register He also told them that if the required funds are to be provided through regular statutory process, it would be a futile exercise.
According to him, the National Assembly should shift the timeline for election to hold between 31st December and 30th January. INEC would be able to start the registration of voters up to the 9th of November.
This he noted, is predicated on certain calculations that, three months is allowed for procurement, to ensure that all the necessary equipment are procured, all the required personnel are recruited and trained, and all the logistics are worked out within three months.
In that event, the commission should be able to, from the last week of October, to the first week of November (two weeks) conduct fresh registration of voters.
Commenting on the possible use of electronic voting system, Jega stated that it is predicated on the ability of INEC to deploy Direct Capture Machines (DCMs) in all the 120,000 voters’ Registration Centers in the country within that time. This represents a feat he said that requires a lot of resources even for the procurement of the machines alone.
He explained that having studied the mistakes of the past, the Commission would procure the DCM directly from the manufacturers and not from vendors and that INEC is already talking with manufacturers to choose the best.
He disclosed that INEC will spend about ₦57 billion if the machines are purchased directly from the manufacturers but it will cost about ₦74 billion if procured through vendors. That amount includes procurement, recruitment, training of staff and logistics.
Clarifying, Jega said the purchase of the DCM alone, directly from the manufacturers, would cost at least ₦36.5 billion, but bought through vendors, then a profit margin of 30% would be added which would mean an additional ₦17 billion concluding that the cost of the equipment alone, is anywhere between 57% and 69% of the total cost of conducting fresh voters registration.
He said that all these have been submitted to the executive and that whether the procurement would be made through the manufacturers or from the vendors, the commission must get the funds latest by 11th August otherwise the nation can as well forget the 2011 elections.
Explaining his position Jega said, “This is because it will be very, very difficult to assure them (manufacturers) to meet procurement requirement if they have no assurance, with no contracts signed and all the necessary procurement processes followed. We also made it clear that if we must be able to achieve this, we must also have some waivers from all the traditional conventional procurement process. If we follow that, there would be no time to do it.”
The INEC Chairman assures of the commission’s commitment to transparency in whatever procurement process taken.
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