President Bola Tinubu announced on Friday that he has nominated four new national commissioners and two resident electoral commissioners (RECs) to fill vacancies in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) caused by the expiry of existing tenures.
The State House press release, issued by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, said the nominees will be scrutinised by the Senate before confirmation. Tinubu also re‑appointed Dr Bala Bila as the national commissioner representing the North‑East geopolitical zone.
The new national commissioners are Professor Mustapha Aliu, who will replace Professor Abdullahi Zuru as the North‑West representative; Bashir Muhammed Umar, nominated to succeed Professor Muhammad Adamu as the North‑Central representative; and Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, the current Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, who will take over from Professor Cornelius Ajayi whose term ends on 24 October. Babalola will serve as the national commissioner for the South‑West.
For the resident electoral commissioner posts, Tinubu nominated retired permanent secretary Dr Samuel Akinjide Akinleye to represent Ekiti State and Zahradden Basiru Sanusi from Jigawa State to replace Professor Saidu Ahmed Babura.
The President urged the Senate to expedite the confirmation process in view of the forthcoming general elections scheduled for January next year, while INEC prepares for the 2027 general elections by filling leadership and administrative vacancies.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
