The claim that President Bola Tinubu has sacked Professor Mahmood Yakubu as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been denied by the commission.
A viral message on WhatsApp has claimed that the INEC chairman was sacked and that the president had appointed one Professor Olamikan as his replacement. However, the WhatsApp message was not attributed to anyone.
The WhatsApp message reads:
“INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu has been replaced with Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan by President Tinubu.”.
According to Vanguard, Rotimi Oyekanmi, the chief press secretary to Prof Yakubu, in his response to the social media claim, said, “Please, disregard. It is not true.”
Yakubu’s second tenure as the chairman of the electoral commission is expected to come to an end towards the end of 2025.
To appoint another INEC chairman, President Tinubu will have to nominate a candidate whose particulars would be forwarded to the Department of State Services (DSS) for scrutiny.
Following the screening, the president will submit the name of the appointee to the National Council of State for its advisory and review. The next step is for the president to forward the name of the appointee to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
