Confusion spread on Wednesday night after reports surfaced that President Bola Tinubu allegedly directed the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to proceed on terminal leave ahead of his tenure’s expiration.
Yakubu’s second term is due to end in the first week of December 2025.
First appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, he was reappointed for another five-year term and confirmed by the Senate.
No INEC chairman has ever served two terms since the commission was established.
The alleged directive reportedly asked Yakubu to suspend official duties and proceed on leave, throwing the commission’s schedule into disarray.
His final quarterly consultative meeting with political parties and a planned session with civil society groups were abruptly cancelled.
Although the quarterly consultative session was postponed, it remained unclear if the delay was connected to the reported presidential directive.
Reacting, INEC Chairman’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, urged Nigerians to consult the Constitution before making assumptions.
“The first thing you need to do is to find out what the law says about the appointment and removal of the INEC Chairman and National Commissioners,” he said.
Section 154(1) of the 1999 Constitution states:
“Except in the case of ex-officio members or where other provisions are made in this Constitution, the appointment of a person to the office of the Chairman or member of any of the bodies so established shall be made by the President and shall be subject to confirmation by the Senate.”
It further provides safeguards under Section 157(1) that:
“A person holding any of the offices to which this section applies may only be removed by the President acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that he be so removed for inability to discharge the functions of the office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any other cause) or for misconduct.”
