Senate approves Tinubu’s request to sack three INEC RECs

The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to terminate the appointments of three Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for Sokoto, Abia, and Adamawa States.

The affected officials are: Dr. Nura Ali (Sokoto), Barr. Hudu Yunusa Ari (Adamawa), and Prof. Ikemefuna Chijioke Uzochukwu (Abia).

The approval followed a motion sponsored by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele during Wednesday’s plenary session. In a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu requested Senate approval to invoke Section 157(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to remove the three suspended RECs.

Senator Bamidele, while presenting the motion, outlined the allegations against the officials:

• Dr. Nura Ali was implicated by security agencies for allegedly compromising the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections due to corruption and incompetence, with reports from the Department of State Services (DSS) indicating he received $150,000 from politicians.
• Barr. Hudu Yunusa Ari was suspended by former President Muhammadu Buhari for unlawfully declaring the results of the Adamawa governorship election, thereby usurping the role of the Returning Officer.
• Prof. Ikemefuna Chijioke Uzochukwu was suspended for mishandling election logistics, abandoning the governorship and state assembly elections, and failing to reschedule supplementary elections.

The Senate invoked Section 157(1) of the Constitution, which allows the President to remove officials from these positions based on a two-thirds majority vote from the Senate for reasons of misconduct or inability to discharge their duties.

The motion was passed unanimously after a voice vote, and the resolution has been forwarded to President Tinubu for final action on the terminations.