Nigerian government wasted over 255 billion naira as a result of low voter turnout recorded in the last three general elections.

kpakpandofm
Read Time:2 Minute, 7 Second

It has been alleged that the Nigerian government has wasted over 255 billion naira as a result of low voter turnout recorded in the last three general elections.

A review of the elections by Dataphyte and revealed by Dennis Amata showed that the Federal government has spent a total of four hundred and forty-four billion naira in conducting the last three general elections.

It was also revealed that in the last two elections, the country wasted over 62 percent of election funds due to low turnout of voters.

The Nigerian law mandates the Independent National Electoral Commission to use the voter register as a foundation for election planning and not merely the figures of those who have collected the Permanent Voters Card.

In 2011 elections, INEC recorded 73.5 million registered voters at a budget of N1,893 per person, which amounted to 139 million naira. For the 2015 elections, 116.3 billion naira was budgeted at the rate of N1,691 per voter for the 68.9 million citizens who had registered prior to the election funding stage. The 2019 elections had 84 million registered voters at the budget of N2,249 which totaled 189.2 million naira.

According to the report, except for 2011, the money wasted in the other two elections was more than the actual cost as compared to the people who came out to vote.

It has been reported that Nigerians don’t come out to vote due to electoral violence, widespread malpractice, people’s lack of faith in the government and political leaders.
It was also noted in a report in 2019 that young people have lost hope in the electoral commission, expressing the belief that their votes don’t count, hence no morale to come out to vote.

Dennis Amata in his summation brought to fore that the ongoing voter registration would likely increase the budget for the 2023 general elections as INEC uses the number of voters registered to plan for election logistics and budgeting, but may still not increase the number of voters on the election day. He also pointed out that to avoid the wastage incurred by the Federal Government, the country may need to adopt workable measures to ensure more participation.

In the same vein, the Executive Director for the Organisation for Community Civic Engagement has tasked political parties in Nigeria to encourage their party members and citizens to come out en masse and vote in the forthcoming election, not only to elect credible leaders but also to avoid unnecessary financial wastage.

0 0
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleppy
Sleppy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %

Average Rating

5 Star
0%
4 Star
0%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Next Post

Omoba Tshola Emiko crowned as Ogiame Atuwase the third, making him the 21st Olu of Warri Kingdom.

The coronation followed a series of activities that were in line with tradition and performed before the ascension of the throne which took place on Saturday. He performed three symbolic chores for the last time, which included fetching water in a clay pot, splitting wood with an ax, and paddling […]

Subscribe US Now

Free Shoutcast HostingRadio Stream Hosting