The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said all funds for the payment of allowances of all National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and ad-hoc workers engaged for the 2015 general elections have been released to those affected.
The Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr Kayode Idowu, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
Kayode said it was possible for some of ad-hoc workers not to have received their money due to error in the bank account details submitted for the payment of such allowances.
He said that for the corps members, their money was paid directly to the NYSC scheme even before the elections.
“This was acknowledged by the Director-General of the NYSC on the day INEC and officials of the directorate held a joint news briefing.
“The D-G actually stated that the monies for corps members have been paid to the scheme, for onward payment to the corps members as agreed.
“They were to be paid an initial sum before the election and the balance after the election. I am very sure that the directorate has done that.
“For the non-NYSC members, they were requested to submit their account details and they were also paid an initial amount and then the balance after the exercise. It is very likely that, this had been done,’’ Idowu said.
He, however, admitted that there were isolated reports that some ad-hoc workers had not been paid their allowances.
Idowu said he had spoken with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) of the affected states, including Lagos, on the matter, saying most of the outstanding cases were due to challenges associated with submitted account details.
He said while it was compulsory to pay the money through the bank, it was possible that some of the submitted bank accounts may not be active.
“I also heard a REC speaking on television explaining that people should bring their account details as some of the details submitted were not valid or correct which created a challenge in accessing the accounts for payment.
“I have heard cases that some people will write their names but filled in their fathers account, such account cannot be accessed because it is not the father’s name that was there but theirs.
“That is why they had the challenge otherwise the money had been paid out by the commission.’’
Also asked if the commission actually experienced any financial challenge in the conduct of the 2015 general election, Idowu said that the budgeted money was provided before the election.
“The elections were conducted on budget, the budget was made and the monies were made available before the elections by government,’’ said the spokesman. (NAN)
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