By our Reporter
President Bola Tinubu has nominated four national commissioners and two Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), following vacancies arising from the expiration of tenure of some officials.
The nominations were contained in a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, the Senate will screen the nominees before their appointments can be confirmed.
The four national commissioner nominees include Professor Mustapha Aliu, who is to replace Professor Abdullahi Zuru as the representative of the North-West, and Bashir Muhammed Umar, nominated to replace Professor Muhammad Adamu as the North-Central representative.
Tinubu also nominated Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, as the new national commissioner representing the South-West. She is expected to replace Professor Cornelius Ajayi, whose tenure expires on October 24.
The President, however, reappointed Dr Bala Bila as the national commissioner representing the North-East.
For the position of Resident Electoral Commissioners, Tinubu nominated retired permanent secretary Dr Samuel Akinjide Akinleye to represent Ekiti State, while Zahradden Basiru Sanusi, from Jigawa State, was nominated to replace Professor Saidu Ahmed Babura.
The President urged the Senate to expedite the screening and confirmation of the nominees in view of the forthcoming general elections scheduled for January next year.
The appointments are expected to fill vacancies within the electoral commission as preparations for the forthcoming elections continue.
