The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has called on the Senate to confirm Professor Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for a second tenure.
In a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, the convener of the group, Clement Nwankwo, commended Professor Yakubu’s nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, forwarding the INEC chairman’s name to the Senate for approval provides an opportunity for lessons learnt from the 2019 general elections and recent off-cycle elections to be taken and long-lasting improvements made to the nation’s electoral process.
READ ALSO: Buhari Reappoints INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu For Another Term
“Situation Room calls on the Senate to confirm his appointment and calls on the National Assembly to expedite efforts to pass into law the Electoral Act (Repeal and Re-enactment Bill 2020).
“Situation Room also calls on the President to make nominations of credible persons to the Senate to fill existing vacant positions in INEC,” Nwankwo said.
The group is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria.
They include Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Proactive Gender Initiative (PGI), Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), and Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF).
Also among the CSOs are African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), CITAD, Enough is Enough Nigeria, WANGONET, Partners for Electoral Reform, JDPC, New Initiative for Social Development, and Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement AFRICA (YIAGA Africa), among others.
President Buhari reappointed Professor Mahmood Yakubu as INEC Chairman for another five-year term on Tuesday.
He was first appointed as chairman of the electoral body in November 2015, six months after the President assumed office.
Professor Yakubu who took over from Professor Attahiru Jega, has led INEC to conduct many elections, including the 2019 general polls and some off-cycle elections which held recently.
