President Muhammadu Buhari on
Wednesday named Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as the National Chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission.
The appointment was consequently approved at the first meeting of the Council of State presided over by Buhari.
Five new national commissioners were also named for the commission.
The national commissioners are Mrs.
Amina Zakari (North-West); Dr. Anthonia Okoosi-Simbine (North-Central);
Alhaji Baba Shettima Arfo (North-East); Dr. Mohammed Mustafa Lecky
(South-South); and Mr. Soyebi Adedeji Solomon (South-West).
The South-East is said to still have a sitting national commissioner.
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State briefed State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.
Tambuwal said by the appointments,
Buhari acted in conformity with the provisions of Sections 154 (1 and 3)
and 156 (3) that conferred on him the powers to appoint a chairman and
national commissioners of INEC, in consultation with the council.
He said the emergency meeting was called
to approve the nominations because of the peculiar situation currently
in the commission.
“The situation in INEC as of today is
such that requires this emergency meeting to approve the nominations by
Mr. President, because the law requires that a minimum of four
commissioners should form a quorum in INEC.
“This is not the case today, because the tenure of 11 national commissioners of INEC had expired,” he said.
Tambuwal added that the council had
agreed to henceforth stagger the confirmation of appointment of INEC
commissioners in view of the situation the nation found itself, whereby
the tenure of individual commissioners expired almost at the same time.
To avert future occurrence of such a
situation, the governor said the council had agreed that the names of
the next six commissioners should be submitted to the council for
approval.
He said the names of those already
approved by the council would be transmitted to the National Assembly
for confirmation according to the law.
He said the issue of whether the INEC
management that fixed the dates of the governorship elections in Bayelsa
and Kogi states was not properly constituted and the decision illegal
did not come up during the meeting.
“That is not a matter for the council to
go into; it is a matter that is strictly under the purview of the
commission itself. So, it didn’t come up at the council meeting,” he
said.
Tambuwal however said the new chairman would preside over the forthcoming elections.
“Obviously, the new chairman and members of the commission (will preside over the forthcoming elections.)
“I have said earlier on that we need a
quorum for the commission to function and that is why Mr. President, in
his wisdom, summoned this emergency meeting for us to approve these
names. So, I’m sure it is the new chairman that will now supervise and
conduct the elections in Kogi and Bayelsa,” he said.
The council, which is chaired by the
President, has Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; all living former
Presidents and Heads of State; President of the Senate; Speaker of the
House of Representatives; all living former Chief Justices of Nigeria
and all state governors, among others, as members.
The meeting which started at about 11.10am lasted for about an hour.
Former Nigerian leaders in attendance
were Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar
and Chief Ernest Shonekan.
Former Presidents Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan were absent.
Also absent at the meeting was the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki.
State governors, deputy governors and some top presidential aides also attended.
Meanwhile, the Council of State,
presided over by President Buhari, on Wednesday commended a former
National Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on his exemplary
performance while in office.
The commendation was given at a meeting of the council held inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, disclosed this to
journalists at the end of the meeting.
Shehu said the council was full of
praise for Jega for presiding over elections that were generally
accepted as free and fair worldwide.
He said the President directed the council secretariat to note the commendations.
“A letter of commendation may later be sent to the former INEC boss,” he added.
Also, on Wednesday Buhari approved the
appointment of Mrs. Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita, as the acting Head of the
Civil Service of the Federation.
A statement by the Director (Press and
Public Relations) in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of
the Federation, Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi, said the appointment took effect
from Wednesday (yesterday).
Oyo-Ita was, until her appointment, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.
She hails from Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State.
The statement said the appointment “is a
testimony of Mr. President’s implicit confidence and trust” in her
ability to discharge the responsibilities of the office of Head of the
Civil Service of the Federation.
The Presidency had on Tuesday
confirmed the exit of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mr.
Danladi Kifasi, describing it as “retirement.”
