The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo state, Mutiu Agboke, has said the submission of wrong account details was why the ad-hoc staff in the last governorship election in the state, were yet to be paid their stipends.

Mutiu told Daily Trust on phone that the commission has not been able to pay because whereas some of the ad-hoc staffs submitted wrong account details, others used account numbers of a third party.

He said this has made it difficult for the Commission to process the payment of the ad-hoc staffs.

“Some of them submitted wrong account details. Others even used account numbers of a third party. That’s the problem we are facing because we use that platform to pay.

“As I am speaking with you now, we are in a meeting to sort out the issues and reconcile that so that everybody gets his or her money,” he said.

On how long it would take to sort out the issues, the REC said he could not disclose.

However, he assured that the Commission would pay the ad-hoc staffs as soon as possible.

He further declined comment on the fate of those who submitted accurate account details, as well as had their names in the Commission’s master list.

Daily Trust gathered that the ad-hoc staffs who worked in various states during the March 9 governorship election are yet to be paid their entitlements by the various states’ INEC.

Dr. David Ajayi, a lecturer in the Department of History, University of Ibadan, who worked as INEC’s Supervisory Presiding Officer (SPO) in Oyo state, decried why the commission is yet to pay them despite the risks they passed through during the elections.

“As I speak with you, none of us has received any stipend for the governorship election held on March 9. In fact, some are still being owed that of the presidential election. That’s too bad given the dangers we faced during the election.

“Worse still, the state REC, Mr. Mutiu Agboke, has refused to speak with us on phone or give any cogent reason on why we are yet to be paid,” Ajayi stated.

He queried the REC’s excuse of submission of wrong account details as reason why the ad-hoc staffs are yet to receive their stipends, describing it as not only unfounded but also untenable.

Miss Nneka Nworie, a youth corps member who worked as a Presiding Officer (PO) during the governorship election in Ebonyi state, also said they are yet to be paid.

“They only paid us N9,000 for the first election (presidential election). We are yet to get anything for the last election,” she said.

Attempts to verify from the INEC headquarters in Abuja on why the ad-hoc staffs are yet to be paid proved abortive, as the phone line of INEC’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, was said to be switched off.

•Sourced from a Daily Trust report

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