The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Josh Amupitan, says personnel of the commission are the least paid workers in Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that Amupitan made the disclosure on Tuesday at a press conference and national stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.
He said INEC had taken “radical steps” to improve the welfare of its personnel, including removing the commission from the civil service salary structure.
“INEC staff is the least paid in Nigeria. So, we felt if we want to demand and hold our staff responsible, we should give them a living wage,” he said.
“And that is why we have taken some very radical steps to ensure that the welfare of INEC staff is prioritised.”
Amupitan explained that the move would allow INEC to operate under a separate electoral and salary structure rather than the existing civil service payment system.
He said the decision was part of measures aimed at addressing identified gaps within the commission and strengthening the electoral system.
“We are not called civil servants. What we have learnt under the civil service payment structure, which we have just removed INEC from, is to have their own separate structure, electoral structure, and separate salary structure from the civil service,” Amupitan said.
“So, those are some of the gaps. There are many others that we have discovered. And we felt that if they address them, it will be able to solve some of the problems we have with the system.”
On rerun elections, the INEC chairman said they were a constitutional requirement that must be incorporated into the commission’s election planning.
“The issue of rerun is a constitutional matter. And as we are planning for the election, you have to plan for rerun,” he said.
“So, it’s there, the procedure, the protocol, everything is there in the constitution.”
