By Chesa Chesa
President Bola Tinubu has nominated four national commissioners and two resident electoral commissioners (RECs) to fill vacancies at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The nominations were announced in a State House press release issued on Friday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
The appointments are subject to Senate scrutiny and confirmation, for which the President urged the lawmakers to expedite their confirmation in view of the forthcoming general elections scheduled for January.
Tinubu also reappointed Dr Bala Bila as the national commissioner representing the North-East.
The newly nominated national commissioners include Professor Mustapha Aliu, who will replace Professor Abdullahi Zuru as the North-West representative, and Bashir Muhammed Umar, who will replace Professor Muhammad Adamu as the North-Central representative.
The President also nominated Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, the current Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, as the national commissioner representing the South-West.
She is expected to replace Professor Cornelius Ajayi, whose tenure expires on October 24.
For the position of resident electoral commissioners, Tinubu nominated retired permanent secretary Dr Samuel Akinjide Akinleye to represent Ekiti State, while Zahradden Basiru Sanusi, from Jigawa State, was nominated to replace Professor Saidu Ahmed Babura.
Onanuga said the President had urged the Senate to expedite the confirmation process to ensure the vacancies were filled ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
