By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
The morale of the staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been boosted as the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has assured that all allowances accrued to them will soon be paid.
The INEC Chairman stated that the National Assembly has approved the appropriation of the N18 billion Naira supplementary budget submitted before it by the Commission, which he defended on Wednesday 1st November 2023.
Prof. Yakubu reiterated this while addressing staff of the Commission at Yenagoa Local Government, the Bayelsa State capital, during a readiness assessment visit to the state on Thursday 2nd November 2023.
He said, “I know that many of you are not happy because you have not received the alert for the 40 percent palliative awarded to all civil servants to cushion the effect of the economic hardship being experienced due to the removal of the fuel subsidy.”
The cause of the delay in payment, he explained, was that the Commission’s budget for the year 2023 was appropriated in December last year and, as such did not capture the 40 percent peculiar allowance, the New Duty Tour Allowance, and the 35-thousand-naira cash award for 6 months approved by the Federal Government from April to September this year.
Prof. Yakubu however affirmed that “the Commission did not go to sleep’’.
