President Bola Tinubu has reappointed Dr Bala Bila as a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and put forward six other individuals to fill openings in the electoral body.
The nominations consist of four National Commissioners and two Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), made after the terms of some current officials came to an end.
A statement released on Friday by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, indicated that the Senate will screen the new nominees for confirmation.
The statement explained that Professor Mustapha Aliu had been nominated to take over from Professor Abdullahi Zuru as the National Commissioner representing the Northwest, while Bashir Muhammed Umar would succeed Professor Muhammad Adamu as the North-Central representative.
Tinubu also nominated Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, currently the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, as the National Commissioner representing the South-West. She is set to replace Professor Cornelius Ajayi, whose tenure ends on October 24.
For the Resident Electoral Commissioner posts, the President nominated retired permanent secretary Dr. Samuel Akinjide Akinleye to represent Ekiti State, while Zahradden Basiru Sanusi, from Jigawa State, was nominated to take over from Professor Saidu Ahmed Babura.
The statement pointed out that the nominations were made to fill vacancies created by the expiration of the tenures of serving commissioners.
Tinubu asked the Senate to speed up the confirmation process given the forthcoming general elections scheduled for January next year.
“The Senate will scrutinize all the nominees,” the statement said.
The president also appealed for a quick confirmation process, highlighting the need to fill the vacancies before the forthcoming general elections.
The nominations will take effect subject to the Senate’s screening and confirmation.
