Jega canvasses new salary structure for staff

Posted by admin General Politics, INEC Politics, Latest Politics Thursday, August 11th, 2011

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday said discussions were underway with the Federal Government on a new salary structure for its staff.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, stated this in Abuja while declaring open a three-day retreat for INEC’s heads of departments, which include operations, information and communications technology (ICT), trainning and legal services.

Jega said he was optimistic that the authorities would consider the proposal as a way of encouraging INEC staff to continue to discharge their duties diligently during elections, as well as cushion the hazardous effect of their job.

“We have already started the process of restructuring and repositioning of the commission for better service delivery. We have begun discussions with the government to enhance the reward system. I hope that with the good work we are doing, we will get positive result,’’ the former president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said.

While appreciating INEC staff for their efforts in assisting the commission in conducting elections, which he said, were widely accepted by majority of Nigerians as well as members of the international community in spite of difficult circumstances, Jega charged the staff to be more dedicated to their job, adding that even as they were not yet perfect, he intends to take the electoral body to the level of perfection and also to become one of the most credible electoral organizations in the world.

Jega further noted that initially, people did not take them seriously, especially after the failure of the commission to start the elections on April 2, as earlier scheduled. “Initially, we were not taken serious by most Nigerians and even our development partners. Everybody was angry with us because of the negative result, which the commission had in the past. When we are determined, we can achieve all that we want to achieve.

“We have a commitment as a new commission to have one of the best electoral bodies in the world. It is achievable, provided we all agree to pursue it as an objective. We must continue to progress. “The worst thing that will happen to us as a body, is to have subsequent elections adjudged as worse than the 2011. We cannot afford to allow that to happen. We must continue to raise the bar as we did from April 9, which was better than what happened on April 2. And the subsequent ones were much more better than what we did on April 9,” Jega stated.

Jega warned against unnecessary waste of time on worthless talks instead of investing such time and energy on productive ventures. Encouraging INEC staff to feel free in expressing their views, Jega said nobody would hold it against them provided they were cautious, urging them to avoid using abusive languages and that such suggestions would go a long way in assisting the commission in its operation.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Country Director, International Foundation on Electoral System (IFES), Carl Dundas, eulogized INEC for taking out time to reflect on the conduct of the general elections, saying such would afford them the opportunity to dictate areas where they did well and areas where they need to improve in future exercises.

According to Dundas, “the stocktaking is very vital because some other African countries like Botswana and South Africa who have done such self-assessment in the past, have used it to improve on their electoral values and system.”
Dundas pledged the continuous support of the activities of INEC, adding that IFES would continue to encourage the electoral body to become one of the best agencies in Africa.

-Sunwp_posts