It was a show of shame yesterday, as lecturers at the University of Calabar, UNICAL, who served as Returning Officers in the March 28 elections, stormed the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, office in Calabar to protest non-payment of their allowances.
The lecturers threatened to boycott Saturday’s elections if their demands were not met.
One of the protesting lecturers told reporters that they decided to embark on the action to protest the ill-treatment meted to them by the commission.
According to him, what they received in previous elections was higher than what the commission offered them this year, though he declined to disclose the figure.
He said: “they (INEC) slashed our honorarium without explanations and could not even pay what they claimed they were going to pay us.”
Speaking on the protest, Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Dr. Sylvester Ezeani condemned the protest, describing their action as ‘unfortunate.’
He said such action was expected of students and not academic staff, promising that efforts will be made to pay them today.
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