The Senate yesterday confirmed the reappointment of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for another five years.
Yakubu was first appointed as chairman of INEC on October 21, 2015, by President Muhammadu Buhari. He was reappointed after his first tenure lapsed in October this year. His confirmation followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on INEC chaired by Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano).
Gaya, while presenting the committee’s report, said Yakubu possessed the requisite qualifications for the INEC’s top job and, therefore, recommended his confirmation.
Opposition PDP senators, who spoke after the presentation of the report, backed the reappointment of Yakubu, whom they described as unbiased and apolitical.
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The Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, commended Yakubu for the technological innovations he introduced at INEC, especially the transmission of election results to the central portal from polling units.
“He is moving in the right direction and we should give him the necessary support,” said Sandy Onor (PDP, Cross River).
Senate President Ahmad Lawan congratulated the nominee and wished him success in his second term.
Yakubu had, during his screening last week, challenged the National Assembly to expeditiously consider and pass the Electoral Act to ensure a seamless 2023 election. According to him, the amended electoral framework is germane to the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
The INEC boss said elections could not be conducted in an atmosphere of uncertainty, adding that work on the electoral framework has to be finalised before 2023 elections would be conducted.
He said when the commission met with members of the Senate and House committees on the electoral matter in Lagos, they had extensive interaction during which they submitted 78 areas of electoral amendments. He said he also forwarded additional 13 areas of an amendment to the two committees.
“The earlier that is done, the better for us. There is no way we can conduct election successfully with uncertainty unless the legal framework is finalised for us to deploy our regulations and guidelines for the election,” Yakubu said.
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