The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has named Mr. Sam Olumekun as its ‘acting chairman’, The Whistler reports.
Olumekun, who serves as the National Commissioner and leads the Information and Voter Education Committee, was introduced as the acting chairman during a meeting with the Labour Party leadership on Wednesday.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the former INEC chairman, is currently attending the ECONEC (ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions) meeting in The Gambia.
Yakubu, who began his tenure as INEC chairman in November 2015, was reappointed for a second term by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020.
According to the Nigerian constitution, the president can only remove the INEC chairman with the support of two-thirds of the Senate.
Earlier, reports circulated that President Bola Tinubu had dismissed Yakubu and replaced him with Professor Bashiru Olamilekan.
However, the presidency denied these claims, calling them “fake news” and stressing that any official announcement would come from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Despite these rumours, Yakubu led a meeting at INEC headquarters on Tuesday, which included Olumekun and other national commissioners.
The meeting was expected to address critical decisions concerning the commission.
That Mahmood will be remembered for plunging Nigerians into this hell we are currently going through. He will answer lots of questions before God, when he is through with this worth.