On Monday, President Bola Tinubu swore in two newly appointed Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) commissioners as Mahmood Yakubu, the commission’s chairman, denied rumors that he had been ousted.
Yakubu reiterated his stance and stressed that the President had not taken any such action in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
“I don’t think we need to waste time on unnecessary speculation. As far as the law is concerned, and to the best of my knowledge, I remain the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the federation under the Constitution, and the Returning Officer for the presidential election under the Electoral Act,” Yakubu mentioned..
As part of ongoing attempts to modernize Nigeria’s electoral process, the INEC chairman also disclosed that the Commission had sent 142 suggestions to the National Assembly after conducting an internal analysis of the general elections in 2023.
“We reviewed the 2023 general elections on our own. We engaged with stakeholders and came up with 142 recommendations. Out of these, eight require constitutional or Electoral Act amendments, and we have already discussed them with members of the National Assembly,” he stated.
Yakubu was pleased with the MPs’ promptness and responsiveness.
“So far, so good. We are happy with our discussions with them and the speed at which they want to proceed to ensure necessary amendments are made ahead of the 2027 general elections,” he said.
He went on to say that INEC and the National Assembly were working together in a steady manner.
“Two weeks ago, we held a retreat in Lagos with the joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on electoral reform. Thereafter, the National Assembly will conduct a public hearing, after which a new bill will be introduced,” he clarified.
Yakubu stated that the Commission’s commitment to guaranteeing future elections that are more transparent and trustworthy includes the filing of recommendations and ongoing legislative engagement.
