The Independent National Electoral Commission, -INEC, has denied allegations of plans to sack its National Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.
Speaking on Channels Television, Politics Today, the INEC National Commissioner for information and Voters Education, Festus Okoye, announced that the commission is currently under pressure to execute a free, fair, and credible election. He had also insisted that the appointment and removal of the commission’s national chairman would be an uphill endeavour.
According to Mr. Okoye:
“The appointment and removal of the INEC Chairman are constitutionally inclined. The process and appointment of the Chairman are very rigorous. The President makes a nomination which goes to the council of states, after which, it goes to the National Assembly for confirmation, before coming back to the president who then appoints the INEC Chairman.
Okoye then continued with: “The process and the removal of the chairman are additionally very rigorous. First and foremost, there must be an allegation and that allegation must conform to the provision of the constitution. Thereafter the allegation would be made to the President and the President will have to approach the National Assembly to ask them to remove the chairman of the commission for infraction of the constitution.”
