INEC Adhoc Staff Threatens To Burn Down INEC Headquarters Over  Non-Payment Of 2023 Election Allowances

Aggrieved  adhoc staff engaged  during the 2023 General Elections in Anambra by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC Tuesday shutdown the INEC Headquarters in Awka in protest over non-payment of their allowances for the jobs done.

The protesters, who bore placards with various inscriptions, blocked any entrance or exit at the INEC state headquarters, demanding that they be paid their stipend for the job done.

They chanted protest songs and totally crippled activities at the INEC office, as staff of the Commission were prevented from entering or going out of the premises for hours.

According to some of the protesters who spoke to journalists, names of Ghost Adhoc staff was insert6 to replace their names.

They said”we were only paid N3000 as feeding allowance while the remnant of N14,000 is being owed them for each of the Presidential and the State House of Assembly Elections in the state.

Some of the protesters accused the INEC of planning not to pay them, as according to them, the electoral body is about concluding the issue of payments.

“They told us that the problem was with Access Bank and Zenith Bank and we were told to submit other bank accounts which we did.

“However, they still refuse to pay us.
“We understand that they are about rounding up the payment of workers during the 2023 general elections, meaning that they do not have  plans to pay us.

“We are over 300 that have not received our allowances while they have paid some,” they said.

Some others regretted that more than two months after the elections, the INEC is still owing them and has not deemed it proper to communicate them on what the issue, demanding that they  be paid or they burnt down  office.

“All we are asking is that INEC pays us the money they agreed to pay us. It is only in Nigeria that people work and do not get paid. 

“We all know the risk associated with conducting elections in this part of the country. Yet, we defied the odds and risked our lives to ensure that democracy is sustained and the only way INEC wants to pay us back is by owing us.

“This is quite unfair and we want to call on the appropriate authorities to look into this matter and ensure that we get our monies,” they pleaded.

All efforts to contact the Resident Electoral Commissioner in-charge of INEC in Anambra, Dr Queen Elizabeth Agwu, or the PRO Dr Kingsley Agu failed as none of them picked their call.

When the PRO finally picked his call ,he queried this reporter if his name is in the protest or is he the ResidentbElectoral commissioner. He asked the reporter to go ahead an write whatever he wants to write.
On her part the REC  neither responded to the messages sent to her nor did she return the calls placed to her.

Meanwhile telegraph gathered that some fake names were inserted on the list of the people who worked during the election to replace the Adhoc staff who actually worked in the state during the election.
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