INEC Given 7 Days To Explain N55.9bn Alleged Missing Election Funds

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, to explain how N55.9bn earmarked for the procurement of election materials for the 2019 general elections was spent.

SERAP said the demand followed findings contained in the latest report of the Auditor-General of the Federation released on September 9.

In a letter dated December 6 and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation urged INEC to provide full details of the contractors involved in the transactions.

According to SERAP, the allegations relate to funds meant for the supply of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets and other critical election materials.

The group said the audit report exposed several “grave violations of constitutional and international standards,” and called on the INEC chairman to immediately refer the matter to anti-corruption agencies for investigation and recovery of public funds.

“INEC must operate without corruption if the commission is to uphold Nigerians’ right to participation in their own government,” SERAP said.

It added that allegations of corruption in the procurement of election materials directly undermine public confidence in the credibility of elections.

The organisation quoted the Auditor-General as saying that INEC “irregularly paid over N5.3 billion to a contractor for the supply of smart card readers for the 2019 general elections” without any supporting documentation or evidence of delivery.

The report also dismissed INEC’s claim that the procurement was exempted on national security grounds, describing the justification as “alien to the Procurement Act.” It further stated that INEC failed to obtain a Certificate of No Objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) as required by law.

On the supply of ballot papers and result sheets, the audit found that INEC paid over N4.5bn to six contractors without documentary proof of supply. It also noted the absence of advertisements, bid submissions, evaluations, approvals and Certificates of No Objection for the contracts.

The Auditor-General further observed that INEC provided no evidence of the contractors’ eligibility, citing the absence of key documents such as tax clearance certificates, pension and NSITF clearance, ITF compliance certificates and BPP registration.

In another query, the audit revealed that N331m was paid under “doubtful circumstances,” including instances where contractors received payment before the formal award of contracts.

One case involved a contract for 25 generating sets dated December 28, 2019, while the receipt for payment was issued 12 months earlier.

On stamp duties, the report said INEC failed to deduct over N2.1bn from contractors between 2018 and 2019, rejecting the commission’s explanation as unsatisfactory.

It also faulted unretired cash advances totalling N630.6m, noting that some officers received multiple advances without retiring earlier ones.

The audit further queried over N41bn in contracts for ballot papers and result sheets allegedly awarded without due process, adding that some of the companies involved were registered as civil engineering, oil and gas and building materials firms, raising further questions about their suitability for such contracts.

On vehicle procurement, the Auditor-General said INEC irregularly awarded a contract for the supply of four Toyota Land Cruisers for over N297m, despite a market survey showing that the vehicle cost was not above N50m in 2019.

Across several entries, the report warned that the funds queried “may have been diverted” and recommended that they be recovered and remitted to the treasury.

SERAP described the audit findings as “a grave violation of the public trust,” stating that INEC could not guarantee impartial elections if the allegations were not addressed and those responsible prosecuted.

“If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and INEC to comply with our request in the public interest,” the group stated.