INEC Admits N3bn Bribe To Manipulate 2015 Polls

BY COBHAM NSA, ABUJA – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fired 205 staff named in the alleged 23 billion Naira largesse distributed by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke to rig the 2015 general elections.
In an apparent show of courage by a public institution to admit its compromised system, INEC said aside from suspending the affected officials, they have been placed on half salaries in line with its terms and conditions of service.
The Commission’s clampdown comes against the backdrop of its resolve to defend the electoral process integrity, with the warning that severe sanctions would be meted out to officials “who compromise its core values of integrity, transparency and impartiality in the conduct of elections.”
Addressing journalists at the end of INEC’s leadership meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, National Commissioner and member, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mallam Mohammed Haruna however said cases involving a former National Commissioner and five former Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), have been referred to the Presidency and the EFCC for further investigation and action. One of the affected RECs is now late.
Mallam Haruna said the decision to refer the former National Commissioner and RECs to the Presidency and the EFCC was because INEC does not have the powers to deal with cases involving its political appointees.
He explained that the decisions were taken after due consideration of the report submitted by its expanded Appointment, Promotion and Disciplinary Committee on the ‘EFCC Interim Report on Bribery, Corruption and Money Laundering Charges’ during the 2015 general elections.
According to him; “In furtherance of its zero tolerance for corruption in the electoral process, the Commission ordered a thorough investigation into the allegations to establish the culpability or otherwise of those named in the EFCC report. The committee’s work was thorough and painstaking, involving issuance of queries to the 202 officials mentioned in the report and interviewing them individually in accordance with the principle of fair hearing and in consonance with INEC Staff Conditions of Service.”
Giving insight on the Commission’s action, Mallam Haruna stated that, “Based on their level of involvement, 205 serving INEC staff will be immediately placed on interdiction, which entails suspension from duties and being placed on half salary, pending the final determination of the cases they have with the EFCC.”
Also, he said that a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), West African Network of Election Observers, comprising retired INEC officials, was engaged to compromise the Commission staff in manipulating the 2015 general elections’ outcome.
The National Commissioner said investigations confirmed that some INEC staff in 16 states got about N3,046,829,000 to influence the polls’ outcome, noting, “There was a clear attempt to bribe INEC staff to influence the outcome of the 2015 general elections using an NGO, West African Network of Election Observers, made up mainly of retired senior INEC officials.”
Mallam Haruna, who refused to name the retired top INEC officials involved in the bribery scam, however disclosed that another set of 70 workers have been referred to EFCC for further investigation due to inadequate evidence linking them to the corruption case, adding that all the ex-officials were deemed innocent until after their successful prosecution.
On the actions taken against the embattled NGO mentioned in the bribery episode, Mallam Haruna said the Commission has banned it from all INEC activities.
Late last year, the Commission had received an interim report from the EFCC, detailing allegations against 202 serving and retired INEC officials and staff across 16 states of the federation.