By Christian George
The Independent National Electoral Commission has recounted how it managed the electoral logistics despite scarcity of cash.
INEC boss, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, while fielding questions from journalists, explained that the commission met with Central Bank of Nigeria and requested the little amount needed in cash to be able to engage the services of the unbanked at the local levels.
According to Punch, the bulk money needed for payment for goods and services was done electronically.
According to Prof. Yakubu, “we anticipated this challenge and we interacted with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the CBN promised us that for the little amount that we need to pay for services in cash they will make the funds available to us and they have done so and these funds have already been accessed by our state offices for the election. That’s why the movement of personnel and materials in the last couple of days ahead of the election have gone unhindered.
“It is not all our operations that are paid for by cash. In fact, the bank of our operations for the procurement of work, goods, and services are paid for electronically but we need small amount of money to pay for the unbanked who render critical services, particularly at the local level.”
