2019 Election: INEC Earmarks N1.4b For The Purchase of Ballot Boxes

The Independent Na­tional Electoral Com­mission (INEC) yes­terday said it has earmarked N1.4 billion naira for the purchase of ballot boxes needed in the conduct 2019 General Elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmud Yakubu, said this in Abuja during the 2016 budget defence session be­fore members of the House of Representative Commit­tee on Electoral Matters and Political Parties Affairs.
Yakubu said that the Commission intended to replace the transparent bal­lot boxes with plastic ones.
According to the INEC boss, the transparent ballot boxes would not be used in the 2019 General Elections.

Yakubu, however, said that as much as the Com­mission was willing to pa­tronise locally-made prod­ucts, it is confronted with the inability of local manu­facturers to deliver the re­quired volume within the stipulated short timeframe for elections.
“Sometimes, it is easier said that we have manufac­turers who have the capac­ity but when you engage them you realise that we may not have such capac­ity for volumes and this not only peculiar to elections.
“Immediately you try to produce something lo­cally, somebody rushes to register a patent and claims ownership of that idea. Right now, we have litiga­tions running into trillions of people who said the pat­ent for smart card reader is theirs.
“And they will get some favourable judgement that we should pay them some fantastic amount.
“So, while it is important for us to encourage our do­mestic producers, we are also careful about that par­ticularly because some of the procurement items are time-bound”, he added.