Date Published: 07/22/10

INEC wants N55b for voters register

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Attahiru Jega , thursday said the commission would require ₦55.1 billion to organise a “substantially more credible” voters register ahead of the 2011 general election.

Jega who told a delegation of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which paid him a courtesy visit earlier today said “We can use ₦55 billion as the cost of equipment alone if we buy directly from the manufacturers since it will cost 2,000 dollars per unit.

He explained that the equipment “will be a laptop-based unit plus the accessories for finger printing and a high resolution camera that can capture the pictures and complete the entire exercise within a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes.” He however noted that a review of the procurement process will save about ₦16 billion. He noted the problems that bedevilled the process in 2006,“As soon as the contract was signed with credible partners, they were abandoned and fake equipment was purchased, some with expired licences and that was what affected the voter registration exercise in 2006”.