The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has received N100 billion out of the N305 billion it proposed for the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
INEC said despite the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill their activities as an electoral umpire would not be hampered.
It further said it “will never reward bad behavior’’ by conducting a by-election in Ekiti East State Constituency before the June 2023 governorship election in the state.
INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, who spoke yesterday in Abuja, also said the Ekiti East State Constituency by-election would hold the same period as the governorship poll.
Yakubu said: “Ekiti governorship election is holding in June. But, in about two weeks, party primaries for the state will commence beginning from January 1 to 29 next year. The primaries for Osun State will be in February.
The Chairman had earlier defended the agency’s proposed N305 billion budget for the general elections before the Senate Committee on Appropriation in Abuja.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Barau Jibrin, assured that the 2022 federal Appropriation Bill will be passed today.
Yakubu attributed his inability to defend the budget proposal last week to an official engagement outside the country.
