National Assembly panel resumes Monday, may slash INEC budget

The National Assembly may cut the budget for the 2019 polls, due to duplication of line items by the Independent National Electoral Commission, tolasblog  has learnt.

Findings on Saturday showed that ahead of the resumed sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committees on Electoral Matters on Monday, August 27, members’ opinions tilted towards adopting INEC’s version of the budget, which is N189.2bn.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s version was N143bn. Before the committees adjourned for the Sallah break, there was a deadlock on whether to pick the President’s version or INEC’s.

But, committee sources disclosed to tolasblog  in Abuja that the INEC version would be adopted, though it might be cut due to duplication of line items.

One senior official informed  tolasblog  that several duplications were identified, especially in the allocations which INEC made for the police and other security agencies.

The source observed that those items were also provided for in the 2018 national budget of N9.12trillion earlier passed by the National Assembly.

He source added that at the resumed sitting on Monday, the committees would first iron out the duplications by getting the heads of the affected security agencies to appear and defend the fresh proposals by INEC.