INEC denies viral rumour of chairman’s sack

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially debunked viral social media claims suggesting that its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has been sacked by President Bola Tinubu.

A widely circulated message, particularly on WhatsApp, alleged that Prof. Yakubu had been removed from office and replaced with a certain Prof. Olamilekan. However, INEC has come forward to label the report as entirely false and misleading.

In a statement released to the press, the Commission urged Nigerians to disregard the rumour, emphasizing that Prof. Mahmood Yakubu remains the substantive Chairman of INEC and is actively carrying out his duties as enshrined in the law.

“INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu has been replaced with Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan by President Tinubu,” the message, which had no attribution, read.

In response to a message from Vanguard, the Chief Press Secretary CPS to the INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, simply said: “Please, disregard. It is not true.”

Yakubu, who is rounding off his second tenure in office, is expected to exit the system towards the end of the year.

The process of appointing an INEC chairman is the President nominating a candidate and forwarding his particulars to the Department of State Services, DSS, for profiling.

After such screening, the President thereafter takes the name to the National Council of State for its advisory review. Based on the outcome, the President sends the name to the Senate for screening and confirmation.