The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said staff of the commission are the least paid workers in the country.

Amupitan disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while presenting the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general elections at a World Press Conference.

He said the commission had taken steps to improve the welfare of its personnel, noting that better remuneration was necessary to make staff accountable for their responsibilities.

“INEC staff are the least paid in Nigeria. So, we felt if we want to demand and hold our staff responsible, we should give them a living wage,” Amupitan said.

The INEC boss said the commission had consequently taken “some very radical steps” to prioritise the welfare of its staff.

According to him, INEC is no longer operating under the civil service payment structure, as the commission now has a separate electoral and salary structure.

“We are not called civil servants. What we have learned under the civil service payment structure, which we have just removed INEC from, is to have their own separate structure, electoral structure, and separate salary structure from the civil service,” he said.

Amupitan said the commission had identified several gaps within the electoral system and was taking steps to address them.

“There are many others that we have discovered. And we felt that if they address all, it will be able to solve some of the problems we have with the system,” he said.

On election reruns, the INEC chairman said the commission was already making provisions for them as part of its preparations for the 2027 elections.

“The issue of rerun is a constitutional matter. And as we are planning for the election, you have to plan for a rerun,” Amupitan said.

He added that the procedures and protocols for conducting rerun elections were provided for in the Constitution. (The PUNCH)

Update news