ZAMFARA: 4 INEC officials in EFCC net for allegedly diverting N84.6m staff allowance

Four officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Zamfara State have been arrested for alleged conspiracy, breach of trust and criminal diversion of ad hoc staff allowances to the tune of N84.6 million.

They were arrested by the Sokoto zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following a petition alleging disparity in allowances to ad-hoc staff in Zamfara compared to what was given to their colleagues in other states.

Those arrested were Hassan Sidi Aliyu, Administrative Secretary; Hussain Jafar, Head of Operations; Abdullahi Yusuf Abubakar, State Accountant; and Abdulmumin Usman.

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Abdullahi Nasiru, who made the petition on behalf of all presiding officers that worked for INEC during the 2019 Presidential and Gubernatorial elections in Zamfara State, had alleged that the ad hoc staff were not paid their N6,000 movement allowance.

EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement on Tuesday said, “The INEC allegedly paid its staff in Zamfara N9,000 while in other states like Sokoto, the commission paid N12, 000.

“Investigation by the EFCC revealed that none of the 10,500 presiding officers who participated in the elections were paid their entitlements put at N84, 696,000.”

The anti-graft agency said efforts were being made to recover the money diverted by the three INEC heads of department and Electoral Officers of the 14 local governments in Zamfara.

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