BEVERLY HILLS, July 20, (THEWILL) – The Senate on Thursday confirmed the appointment of eight of the 12 remaining Resident Electoral Commissioners, REC, sent to it by the Executive for legislative confirmation.
This was as the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, laid its report on the 12 RECs nominees at the upper legislative chamber.
The eight that were confirmed are:
1. Asmau Maikudi, Katsina, new appointment;
2. Sam Olumekun, Ondo, reappointment;
3. Riskuwa Shehu, Sokoto, new appointment;
4. Kasim Geidam, Yobe, reappointment;
5. Jibrin Zarewa, Kano, reappointment;
6. Abdulganiyu Raji, Oyo, new appointment;
7. Samuel Egwu, Kogi, new appointment;
8. Mike Igini, Delta, reappointment;
The confirmation of a Lagos State nominee, Rufus Akeju, for reappointment as a Resident Electoral Commissioner was however suspended.
This followed a point of order raised by the Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Abiodun Olujimi (PDP, Ekiti-South), to object to the confirmation of Akeju, who she said the Appeal Court has rejected.
“Mr. President, I have a court ruling against him, saying he cannot be confirmed as Resident Electoral Commissioner. He went to appeal but his appeal was struck out. He appealed but lost it. The document is here with me,” she said.
Efforts by Solomon Olamilekan (APC Lagos) to ensure that the nomination of Akeju sailed through on the basis that the INEC committee had cleared him, failed.
Solomon was opposed by Peter Nwaoboshi (PDP-Delta) who said the Senate should not disregard pronouncement of a court.
It was therefore resolved that Olujimi should furnish the INEC committee with the document she held, so that the committee would report back to the Senate later in respect of Mr. Akeju.
Chairman of the Committee on INEC, Senator Suleiman Nazif, had said the panel rejected the nomination of Professor Mustapha Zubairu (Niger) as the nominee comes from the same local government area with the Federal Commissioner of INEC for North-Central, Mohammed Haruna.
The panel also suspended the confirmation of two other nominees, Mahmuda Isah (Kebbi) and Ahmad Bello Mahmud (Zamfara) for “further legislative considerations”.
