President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sent a request to the Senate, asking for the confirmation of five individuals as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The letter, addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, was submitted on Tuesday.
According to Tinubu, the nominations are in accordance with Section 154(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which gives the president the authority to appoint electoral commissioners, subject to Senate approval.
The nominees are Umar Yusuf Garba for Kano, Saad Umar for Bauchi, Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziako for Anambra, Mohammad I. Ngoshe for Borno, and Dr. Owede Kosioma Eli for Bayelsa.
In another letter, the president also put forward the name of Nwakuche Sylvester Ndidi for the position of Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).
This nomination follows the guidelines in Section 3(1)(b) of the NCoS Act, 2019, which outlines the appointment process for the agency’s leadership.
Tinubu urged the Senate to act swiftly on the approvals, stressing the importance of both INEC and the Correctional Service in maintaining order in the country.
The Senate has referred the request to its Committee on Interior, which is expected to review and report back within a week.
