- With 2027 elections approaching, consideration turns to how Nigeria’s subsequent INEC chair may very well be appointed and confirmed below constitutional pointers
- The president nominates a candidate after consulting the Council of State, whereas ultimate approval rests on Senate screening and affirmation
- Debate grows over whether or not a president’s energy to pick the election umpire threatens the independence of Nigeria’s electoral course of
With consideration slowly turning towards Nigeria’s 2027 normal election, the place of the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) chairman is as soon as once more below scrutiny.
Present chairman Mahmood Yakubu, who oversaw the contentious 2023 polls, faces persistent requires removing from critics who accuse him of mismanaging the vote.
INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, whose tenure has drawn scrutiny forward of the 2027 normal election. Picture: FB/INEC
Supply: Twitter
Step-by-step information to INEC chair appointment
Understanding how this highly effective workplace is stuffed is essential to following the controversy over whether or not President Bola Tinubu will retain Yakubu or search a substitute earlier than the following nationwide contest.
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The Nigerian Structure supplies a transparent framework for appointing the pinnacle of the electoral fee.
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Part 153 of the 1999 Structure lists INEC as one in every of 14 federal commissions whose creation is assured by regulation. Part 154 particulars the method for choosing a md.
First, the president nominates a candidate after consulting the Council of State, an advisory physique that features the president as chair, the vice chairman, all former presidents and heads of state, the senate president, the speaker of the home of representatives, the legal professional normal of the federation, the minister of justice and all 36 state governors.
The Nigerian Senate chamber is the place nominees for the INEC chairmanship are screened and confirmed. Picture: FB/ABAT
Supply: Twitter
As soon as the president makes a selection, the nominee faces a Senate screening. Solely after receiving Senate affirmation can the nominee formally assume the workplace.
The screening is designed to check the candidate’s neutrality {and professional} competence, because the INEC chair have to be trusted to conduct elections for all political events with out bias.
This course of signifies that whereas the president initiates the appointment, it can’t be accomplished with out the participation of each the Council of State and the Senate.
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When will Tinubu appoint new INEC chairman? Presidency offers replace
The construction is meant to forestall unilateral motion, however critics argue {that a} president with a supportive Senate nonetheless holds important sway over who leads the electoral fee.
Nigeria’s constitutional course of for 2027 INEC management
Mahmood Yakubu was first appointed in 2015 by then President Muhammadu Buhari and reappointed for a second time period in 2020. His tenure runs till 2025 until the president decides to interchange him earlier utilizing the identical constitutional pathway.
Ought to a change happen forward of the 2027 election, President Tinubu would want to seek the advice of the Council of State, nominate a successor and safe Senate approval earlier than a brand new chairman takes workplace.
The association continues to spark debate amongst civil society teams and political observers. Opponents say permitting the president to pick the nation’s prime election umpire undermines the fee’s independence.
Supporters counter that previous elections have proven {that a} president’s nominee can nonetheless preside over outcomes unfavorable to the federal government, pointing to the 2015 contest when Attahiru Jega, appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan, supervised the election that led to Jonathan’s defeat.
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INEC shuts workplaces in Kwara
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that concern gripped a number of communities in Kwara state following recent assaults by suspected terrorists, popularly often known as bandits, who at the moment are concentrating on politicians and electoral officers.
Legit.ng gathered that on Sunday night time, gunmen stormed Sakpefu neighborhood within the Lade district of Patigi Native Authorities Space and kidnapped the spouse and daughter of the native chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Mohammed Swasun.
Supply: Legit.ng
