By MKPE ABANG
“Subjecting electoral commission to so-called TSA is recipe for disaster.”
Even as hiccups and hurdles continue to mount on the recently introduced Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the Gen. Muhammadu Buhari Administration, the man who organised the general elections that gave victory to President Buhari, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has sounded a stern and sound note of warning against the implementation of the system for the activities and programmes of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Prof. Jega, the immediate past Chairman of INEC, who organised the 2015 General Elections that brought Gen. Buhari to power, while delivering the Keynote Speech at the opening of this year’s annual e-Nigeria Conference in Abuja, November 17, in calling for “financial autonomy” for INEC warned:
“To a large extent effectiveness of electoral processes is conditional on availability of financial resources to deliver efficient services consistent with international minimum benchmarks and global best practices.
“Electoral processes cannot be effective if an election management body is starved of funds, and/or has to go cap in hand to an incumbent executive begging for funds before it can conduct an election.
“The financial autonomy of INEC needs to be strengthened. It should continue to be on first-line charge and have all its funds released through the statutory transfer fund, which is domiciled in the Central Bank as appropriated by the National Assembly.
And here I must say and I hope it is not being controversial:
“Subjecting the electoral commission to the so-called treasury single account I believe is recipe for disaster; and needs to be carefully looked at.”
More reports on e-Nigeria to follow.