Edo Governorship Postponement: We will pay 19,000 staff over again – INEC Explains

The Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed that it will make fresh payments to 19,000 staff as a result of the postponement of the Edo State governorship election.

Nick Dazang, the commission’s Deputy Director for voter education and publicity, disclosed this on Friday.

He said INEC had already confirmed its readiness for the election, and only the last stage of preparation was left at the time the security agencies advised it to shift the poll.

“We are calling back about 19,000 staff, we have to pay them again and we might consider retraining them ahead of election, so that they will remember some of the things that we have taught them. That is money,” he said.

“We have to pay them for the allowances. We have to pay them allowances for coming back to conduct the election.

“We might have to reprint one or two of the sensitive materials to reflect the new date. Thankfully, as of the time our attention was called to the advisory, we had not distributed some of the materials.”

He said the development would not in any way affect the conduct of the election, as the commission always made provision for such contingency.

“The postponement of the election did not in any way change our preparedness for the election, neither has it changed our resolve to conduct free, fair and credible election,” he said.

Dazang added that the commission would continue to engage with the security agencies to ensure that the election is peaceful on the rescheduled date