The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed concern over the inadequate budget allocation for the Commission for the year 2024. Speaking before the Senate Committee on INEC, led by Senator Sarafadeen Ali, Yakubu revealed that the N40 billion allocated could only cover the Commission’s personnel and social contributions.
“We need N89 billion rather than N40 billion,” Yakubu stated, providing a detailed breakdown of the intended expenditure. He explained that the personnel cost alone is expected to rise from N26.5 billion in 2023 to N44.5 billion in 2024. The overhead cost is projected at N7.9 billion, electoral expenditure at N9.7 billion, and capital expenditure at N909 million.
Yakubu lamented that the N40 billion budget envelope is “grossly inadequate to meet our expenditure requirement for 2024.” He pointed out that the Federal Government introduced a 40 percent peculiar allowance in March 2023, which all agencies on the Consolidated Public Salary Structure were required to pay. However, no provision was made for this in the budget, which was appropriated in December 2022.
“To pay the peculiar allowance to over 15 thousand staff of the Commission, we needed N10.6 billion that was not provided for,” Yakubu said. He also highlighted that the Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) was revised by a minimum of 100 percent across the board, and there was no provision in the budget for the implementation of these allowances.
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Yakubu further disclosed that the Commission made a case to the Executive, which resulted in a provision of N18 billion for INEC under the Supplementary Budget. “Practically speaking, the budget for the Commission for 2023 is N68 billion; the N50 billion plus the N18 billion under the supplementary budget,” he said.
However, Yakubu expressed surprise that the 2024 budget dropped from N68 billion to N40 billion, which was the same amount appropriated to the Commission in 2021. He stressed that the amount is insufficient to even meet personnel costs due to the new policy on additional allowances for officials.
“Our personnel cost in 2023 was N21.8 billion but because of the 40 percent peculiar allowance, the new DTA, the 35 percent wage award, and others, our wage bill now is N36.5 billion. If you take it out of the N40 billion, there is virtually nothing left in the budget for Capital, Electoral, and Overhead Expenditures,” Yakubu concluded.