We aren’t recruiting N-Power beneficiaries— INEC By Omeiza Ajayi & Joseph Erunke
Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, has alleged that there were plans by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to adopt beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s N-Power programme as ad-hoc staff in next month’s general election.
CUPP in a statement, yesterday, by its First national spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere, said already, the commission had begun recruitment of the Federal Government’s N-Power beneficiaries as ad-hoc staff for the election, and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the electoral umpire to order immediately. The statement read in part: “The President wants to use the beneficiaries of their failed N-Power programme to technically rig the election. ‘’The INEC chairman should ensure the credibility, which he promised Nigerians by making sure that no N-Power beneficiary is recruited as ad-hoc staff in the election, because it’s clear that these so-called beneficiaries are going to be used by President Buhari and his APC cohorts to rig the elections.
We aren’t recruiting N-Power beneficiaries— INEC Reacting to the allegation last night, INEC dismissed the allegations, saying it took exceptions to them. The commission’s director in charge of Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Civil Society Liaison, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzi, told Vanguard that the electoral umpire was recruiting members of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC as its ad hoc staff and not N-Power beneficiaries. He said: “There is a portal that has been opened for recruitment of ad-hoc staff. Nigerians are applying and we do not know who N-Power beneficiaries are most importantly, we are recruiting NYSC members.” ‘’It is when there is a shortfall that we consider students of federal tertiary institutions or ex-corps members, but essentially, we are using corps members and we are not aware that corps members are N-Power beneficiaries.”
