The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday suspended 205 staff of the commission indicted in an allegedly N23 billion bribery scandal.
An election monitoring body, the West African Network of Election Observers (WANECO), made up of mainly retired senior INEC officials, which allegedly facilitated the bribery has also been blacklisted by INEC for alleged complicity in the scam.
The suspended staffs are to be placed on half salaries pending the final determination of the cases filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
National Commissioner, Mallam Mohammed Haruna, who briefed journalists after a management meeting at INEC headquarters, said the suspension followed consideration of the report of its disciplinary committee on the EFCC interim report on bribery charges during the 2015 General Elections.
While reiterating the commitment of INEC to defending the integrity of the electoral process, the national commissioner vowed that the commission will continue to take stern action against its officials, who compromise its core values of integrity, transparency and impartiality in the conduct of elections.
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