President Bola Tinubu has nominated four national commissioners and two Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fill vacancies created by the expiration of existing appointments.
The nominations were disclosed in a State House statement issued on Friday by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy.
The statement indicated that the nominees would be submitted to the Senate for screening and confirmation before assuming their respective positions.
As part of the appointments, Tinubu renewed the tenure of Dr Bala Bila as the national commissioner representing the North-East geopolitical zone.
Professor Mustapha Aliu has been nominated to replace Professor Abdullahi Zuru as the commissioner representing the North-West, while Bashir Muhammed Umar is to succeed Professor Muhammad Adamu as the North-Central representative.
The President also nominated Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, the current Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, for the national commissioner position representing the South-West.
She is expected to take over from Professor Cornelius Ajayi, whose tenure is due to end on October 24.
For the Resident Electoral Commissioner positions, Tinubu nominated retired permanent secretary Dr Samuel Akinjide Akinleye to represent Ekiti State.
Zahradden Basiru Sanusi, from Jigawa State, was also nominated to replace Professor Saidu Ahmed Babura as a Resident Electoral Commissioner.
The President has called on the Senate to fast-track the confirmation of the nominees in preparation for the forthcoming general elections, which the statement said are scheduled for January next year.
The appointments come as INEC intensifies preparations for the 2027 general elections. Once confirmed, the nominees are expected to fill vacancies within the commission and support its responsibilities for managing Nigeria’s electoral process.
