715 INEC Offices Moved Out of LG Secretariats, Chairman Yakubu Speaks

• INEC boss, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said 92.4% of its offices have been relocated to neutral locations
• Yakubu disclosed this on Thursday, November 21, at a meeting with the House of Representatives committee on electoral matters
• INEC boss spoke a few weeks after the lower chamber of the National Assembly directed the agency to vacate its offices to enhance the neutrality of the electoral body

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has said that 715 offices of the commission, had over the years been relocated outside local government secretariats in the country.

Recall that the House of Representatives had asked INEC to vacate from its current 774 local government offices located at LG secretariats.

This decision was made to prevent undue interference from interest groups, particularly in areas dominated by a single political party.

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Professor Paul Nnamchi raised the motion during plenary on Thursday, October 31, 2024, and the parliamentarians unanimously supported it.

Speaking when he appeared before the committee at the National Assembly, on Thursday, November 21, Yakubu recalled that as part of the previous transitional arrangements from military to democratic system of government, military governors in the various states were directed to make offices available to the electoral commission in the state capitals and local government areas.

“In most of the states, it was found convenient to provide a few rooms in the existing LGA secretariats for that purpose,” he said.

Yakubu added that following the democratic transition, some opposition parties and candidates frequently complained about being denied access to INEC’s offices located in LGA secretariats, particularly during election periods, citing concerns over voter registration and collation of election results and other electoral responsibilities vested in the commission by law, Vanguard reported.

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Yakubu added that not many Nigerians are aware that the commission manages extensive physical assets across the country.

He said these include 774 functional LGA offices, 37 State offices, the Commission’s national headquarters (and annex), the Electoral Institute, eight zonal/sub-zonal stores, and residential quarters for Commission members and the 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs.

“So far, 715 (92.4%) offices have been relocated from LGA secretariats nationwide. In Secretariats with large expanse of land, the Commission constructed its own offices within the premises. Perimeter fences were erected to physically separate the offices from the LGA Secretariats, including the provision of separate entrances accessible to the public. The Commission has been working hard to ensure the relocation of the remaining 59 (7.6%) offices,” he stated.

“Furthermore, availability of land in some parts of the country, particularly the interface between the community and government, is a major challenge.”

Read more about INEC here:

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Tinubu sends names of 3 REC nominees to Senate

In another development, Legit.ng reported that President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the names of three new nominees for the position of Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) to the Nigerian Senate.

The nominees include Saseyi Feyijimi Ibiyemi for Ondo state, Abdulrazak Yusuf Tukur for the north-west zone, and a third nominee whose name is yet to be disclosed.

The Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, confirmed the development on Tuesday, November 19, and shared further details.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng