INEC set to destroy N9bn 2015 ballot papers

Written by: 

Taiwo Adisa -Abuja

•How commission wasted billions on foreign firms •CBN pressure behind the move •It’s not true —INEC

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to destroy most of the ballot papers used in the 2015 election any moment from now.
Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune confirmed that the commission would soon burn close to 200 million copies of the ballot papers printed abroad in late 2014.


The ballot papers, which cost Nigeria N9 billion, are to be destroyed as they are actually supposed to be disposable items, which should not have been sophisticated.
Besides, the plan to save Nigeria the huge billions through the printing of the ballot papers locally under the administration of Professor Attahiru Jega were already rebuffed, as it was learnt that the chairman and his key officials insisted on the need to properly secure the items.
It was gathered that officials of the commission were already moving the materials to the six zonal offices across the country, where they were to be destroyed.

Sources in the know told the Nigerian Tribune that the decision to burn the materials was a clear evidence of waste complained about by some Nigerians during the tenure of Professor Attahiru Jega.
It was gathered that some officials of the commission had argued in 2014 that INEC did not need to print the ballot papers abroad and that awarding the contracts locally would mitigate capital flight and also save money.

It was suggested that some officials of the commission under Jega argued that INEC could cut costs by printing locally and also placing the printers in stand-by for rerun ballot papers, instead of printing all the needed copies whether rerun holds or not.

But the commission went ahead to award the contract worth N6 billion to foreign firms and another N3 billion for the component of the papers printed locally.

“What happened was that the commission printed all the ballot papers meant for use at a go. It printed 75 million copies for presidential election, another of the same volume for possible rerun and there is a balance of five per cent on each volume. The same was done for all the other elections –Senate, House of Representatives, governorship and state House of Assembly.
“What happens is that the commission eventually used less than 20 per cent of the printed ballot papers and then there is excess ballot papers everywhere.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised the alarm that the excess ballot papers were congesting its stores and the commission had to start moving them to the zonal offices.
“The ballots set aside to be burnt are the excess copies printed for rerun and those that were not used during the elections. Any moment from now, they will be burnt,” a source said.

But the Director of Publicity and Voter Education of INEC, Mr Oluwole Ozeze Uzzi, denied knowledge of the planned destruction of ballot papers.
He said the commission usually keeps ballot papers for some time.
“That cannot be true. We don’t have excess papers,” he said.