Independent National Electoral Commission chairman Mahmoud Yakubu cannot be removed from his position with the wave of the hand, Festus Okoye, the INEC commissioner in charge of voters education has said.
Mr. Okoye who spoke on Channels TV Politics Today was reacting to concerns raised by Conference of Nigeria Political Parties and other concern groups about the possible removal of the INEC boss by the ruling party because of his insistence on electronically transmitted results and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS.
“Let me make this point. The position of the INEC chairman is a very serious position and it is a constitutionally protected position,” Okoye said.
“The process for the appointment of INEC chairman is a very rigorous process. The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria makes a nomination, then goes to the council of state.
“Thereafter he goes to the National Assembly for possible confirmation. Now the process and the procedure, the mechanism for the removal of INEC chairman is also a very rigorous process. First there must be an allegation and that allegation must conform to the provision of the constitution.
“Thereafter the allegation must be taken to the president and the president now approaches the National Assembly asking the Senate in this instance to remove the electoral management body.”
He admitted that the INEC was under pressure to deliver a free and fair election in 2023.
“Yes, we are under pressure from the Nigerian people to deliver a credible, fair and transparent election in 2023, and that’s the only pressure I know about.
“But I will not disappoint Nigerians and the international community. We will deliver a credible general election that will meet international standards.”
