‘Pay Us N20,000 Each Or We Won’t Commence Polling’ – Lagos INEC Ad-Hoc Staff Protest

Members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ad-hoc staff are said to have staged a ‘no pay, no work’ protest in Lagos state over alleged non-payment of the allowances due to them.

The ad-hoc staff members, who comprise mainly of NYSC members, were supposed to distribute voting materials in 25 wards under Ikeja local government of Lagos, but have reportedly refused to mobilize to voting centers.

The protesting INEC ad-hoc staff members are said to be demanding N20, 000 cash instead of the N7, 000 they were allegedly paid before mobilizing to the poling units.

According to Daily Trust, the Corps members decided to stage the protest due to non-payment of the outstanding allowances owed to them by INEC officials for the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“No pay, no work! We won’t move out from here except the N20,000 due to us are paid in full. We received N7,000 alert but we are not ready to be taken for granted again like they did during the presidential election,” the newspaper quoted one of the INEC ad-hoc staff as saying.

On her part, the INEC Supervisory Polling Officer (SPO) for the LGA told journalists that the only money available was the N7, 000 paid to the ad-hoc staff members.

“We have distributed materials since yesterday evening. But they are insisting that they won’t move to the field to commence polling.  What can I do?  Where am I going to get the N20,000 each which they are demanding?” the SPO said.