'INEC Can Handle LG Elections', Mahmood Yakubu Opens Up

'INEC Can Handle LG Elections', Mahmood Yakubu Opens Up

  • INEC boss, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday, July 25, led a team of national commissioners, directors, and the chief press secretary (CPS) to brief the national assembly joint committee on electoral matters
  • Legit.ng reports that the key meeting was held at the national assembly (NASS) complex in Abuja
  • Off-cycle election budgets and issues surrounding local government elections in the country topped the meeting's agenda

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics, governance, and elections.

FCT, Abuja - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it can easily conduct local government (LG) elections in Nigeria if saddled with the responsibility.

As reported by The Nation, INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, made this known on Thursday, July 25, when he appeared before the joint Senate and House of Representatives committee on electoral matters.

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INEC expresses readiness to handle conduct of LG elections in Nigeria
INEC had been conducting area council elections in the FCT, but state electoral commissions handle LG polls. Photo credit: Kola Sulaimon
Source: Getty Images

Channels Television also noted Yakubu's stance.

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Legit.ng understands that Yakubu appeared before the federal lawmakers to explain the agency's preparedness for the upcoming governorship elections in Ondo and Edo states.

Currently, all 36 states have independent election commissions which organise local government elections in the states.

Addressing the legislators, Yakubu said INEC has the capacity to handle the local government elections but that would only be possible pending when the law is amended to permit it to do so.

He pointed out that the commission had been conducting area council elections in the federal capital territory (FCT) which, according to him, has been devoid of the problems associated with the conduct of local government elections.

Merits of INEC conducting elections in Nigeria

Furthermore, the former executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) stated that some advantages of INEC handling elections include conducting regular elections as and when due, and stability of tenure.

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He noted that there has never been a time one political party has won all the seats at the elections as is common in the states, adding that if INEC handles the LG polls, it would be better for democracy.

However, Prof. Yakubu said this can only happen if the constitution is amended to take away the responsibility from state electoral commissions.

More to read on INEC

INEC chairman risks jail

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Yakubu risks jail term if he continues to disobey a court order which allegedly declared Edozie Njoku as the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

Speaking in Abuja on the committal charge against the INEC boss, Njoku and members of the national working committee (NWC) of APGA cautioned Yakubu not to treat the 14-day grace given to him by a court with levity.

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Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng

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Ridwan Adeola avatar

Ridwan Adeola (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a content creator with more than nine years of experience, He is also a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (2014). Ridwan previously worked at Africa Check, contributing to fact-checking research works within the organisation. He is an active member of the Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI). In March 2024, Ridwan completed the full Google News Initiative Lab workshop and his effort was recognised with a Certificate of Completion. Email: ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.