President Bola Tinubu has reappointed Dr Bala Bila as a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Co7mmission (INEC) and nominated six other individuals to fill vacant positions in the electoral body.
The nominations include four National Commissioners and two Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), following the completion of the tenures of some serving officials.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the appointments in a statement on Friday, noting that all nominees would be presented to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
Among the nominees, Professor Mustapha Aliu is expected to succeed Professor Abdullahi Zuru as the National Commissioner representing the North-West, while Bashir Muhammed Umar has been nominated to replace Professor Muhammad Adamu as the North-Central representative.
Tinubu also nominated the current Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, as the National Commissioner representing the South-West. She is expected to take over from Professor Cornelius Ajayi, whose tenure ends on October 24.
For the vacant Resident Electoral Commissioner positions, the President nominated retired permanent secretary, Dr Samuel Akinjide Akinleye, to represent Ekiti State.
Zahradden Basiru Sanusi, from Jigawa State, was also nominated to replace Professor Saidu Ahmed Babura as a Resident Electoral Commissioner.
According to the statement, the nominations are intended to fill vacancies created by the expiration of the tenures of serving officials.
Tinubu urged the Senate to expedite the confirmation process to ensure that the vacant positions are filled ahead of the forthcoming general elections scheduled for January next year.
The nominees will assume their respective positions subject to Senate screening and confirmation.
