Expdonaloaded News; Tension as INEC ad-hoc staff lock up REC in Anambra

THERE was a mild drama yesterday, at the Anambra State headquarters of the Independent National Elec­toral Commission (INEC), Awka, when more than 150 ad-hoc workers of the com­mission stormed the sec­retariat and locked up the Resident Electoral Com­missioner (REC), Edwin Nwatarali, and his staff inside their offices, over non- payment of their al­lowances.
The ad-hoc workers, who served in the general elec­tions of March 28 and April 11, 2015, said they were yet to receive their payment four months after the polls. The protesting temporary workers, who had bought padlocks and chains, barri­caded and locked the gates of the commission, while the REC and his staff were still inside, insisting their money should be paid to them. They ignored appeals from security operatives to vacate the commission’s gate, chanting anti -INEC songs and describing the commission as debtors. The security operatives had to release tear gas canisters and fire gunshots to dis­perse the crowd. When contacted on telephone, the REC, Mr. Nwatarali, said he would not talk on phone. His words: “Please, I do not talk to pressmen on phone, thank you and I will not talk again.” However, after about five hours of the commotion, some staff members of the commission pleaded with the ad-hoc workers to give the commission till Sep­tember 7, 2015 to settle the matter. One of the protesters, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “These people in INEC are terrible. They gave them money for us and they chose to do ‘man know man’, by pay­ing some and leaving the rest of us. Those people do not want to pay us. We learnt the money had been released to them.”