Politics

Kogi Guber Poll: INEC To Save N290m By Conducting Governorship & Senatorial Re-run Same Day

Published

5 years ago

Oct 30, 2019.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has revealed that the commission would reduced the cost of conducting elections in Kogi state by combining the governorship poll and West Senatorial rerun for the same day.
The commission revealed that it would save a total of N290m in cost by conducting the elections same day.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this known on Tuesday in Abuja at a quarterly consultative meeting with political parties ahead of the November 16 polls.
The chairman stressed that the senatorial election only would cost N300m. Adding that, combining it with the governorship poll would reduce the cost to less than N10m.
Yakubu added that the Brass I state constituency election, holding in six polling units in Bayelsa, would also be conducted on the same day with the governorship election.
He said “In the case of Kogi West, it is a whole senatorial district that the Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal had nullified the election conducted on Feb. 23 and ordered INEC to conduct a re-run.
“By coincidence, the judgment of the Appeal Court came very close to the governorship election. So the commission decided to combine the election with that of Kogi West Senatorial district.
“As a standalone election, the senatorial district election in seven local government areas of the state would have cost the nation over N300 million.
“ We have to get ad hoc staff, make arrangements for transportation, accreditation of observers and also the cost on the part of the political parties and others.
“But because we are combining the election with that of the governorship, it is going to cost the nation less than N10 million, instead of over N300 million.
“So, the commission decided to combine the two elections in order to save cost and for convenience.”
The chairman however, cautioned political parties against hate speech, provocative statement and any form of violence before, during and after the elections.