INEC

 In August, 20 RECs resign as their terms are up.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu

Starting on Wednesday, the terms of no fewer than 20 state resident electoral commissioners will begin to expire.

According to research by The MEDIA, many of the RECs will leave the electoral body between July 6 and August when their five-year terms come to an end.

One of the 27 authorities that President Major General Muhammadu Buhari appointed in 2017 was the electoral commissioners (retd.).

We discovered that some of them had already completed their second term and were therefore ineligible for nomination again.

However, a REC who confirmed the news to one of our reporters said he was unsure whether INEC had informed the Presidency of the opening.

He stated, "The President appointed the 20 RECs in 2017." In August, I would be leaving INEC. I'm not certain that INEC informed the Presidency so they could begin looking for nominations. The president and his advisors, in my opinion, know what to do.

When the news was confirmed, another resident electoral commissioner replied, "Some RECs are departing on Wednesday, but I'm not one of them. Some of us would not be traveling today due to the Senate's vetting process being delayed, but four people will be traveling in August instead.

Section 154 of the 1999 Constitution mandates that the Senate screen candidates for the positions of Resident Electoral Commissioners and National Commissioners of INEC.

The clause states that, "Except for ex-officio members or when other provisions are provided in this Constitution, the Chairman and members of any such bodies must be appointed by the President, pursuant to the requirements of this Constitution, and the appointment shall be subject to confirmation by the senate.

Buhari had asked the Senate to confirm the 27 nominations in 2017 in accordance with the provisions of section 14 (3) (a) of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

The Senate later confirmed and appointed the individuals proposed to serve as resident electoral commissioners.

They are Prof. Godswill Obioma from Abia, Ibrahim Abdullahi from Adamawa, Alhaji Ahmad Makam from Bauchi, James Apam from Benue, Mike Igini from the Delta, Drs. Nkwachukwu Orji from Ebonyi, Dr. Illoh Chuks from Enugu, Hussaini Pai from the FCT, Sadiq Musa from Kaduna, Jibrin Zarewa (Katsina).

Others are Dr. Mahmuda Isah (Kebbi), Prof. Samuel Egwu (Kogi), Amb Rufus Akeju (Lagos), Prof. Mustapha Zubairu (Niger), Agboke Olaleke (Ogun), Sam Olumekun (Ondo), AbdulGaniyu Taju (Oyo), Prof. Riskuwa Shehu (Sokoto), Kasim Geidam (Yobe (Bayelsa).

This newspaper was unable to ascertain whether certain retiring RECs would be nominated for re-election.

Prior to the end of their terms, it was learned that some of them were urging for reappointment.

When approached by our journalists on Monday, some of the impacted authorities opted not to comment.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, could not be reached for comment, making it impossible to get a response from the Presidency.

However, an anonymous presidential official claimed that the President would write to the National Assembly "at the appropriate moment."

The impending vacancy in the commission was announced by Mr. Festus Okoye, INEC's National Electoral Commissioner for Information and Voter Education.

"Between now and August, their terms would be up. Their terms of employment end differently. I need to check my books, but if you call me back, I can give you the precise number that is traveling this week.

However, Okoye was not available for additional comment on Monday since he was reportedly meeting with Osun State stakeholders in advance of the state's governorship election on July 16.

The President proposed five candidates in December of last year for appointment as national INEC commissioners and one candidate for the job of resident electoral commissioner to take the place of INEC Commissioners whose terms had expired.

Mohammed Haruna and May Agbamuche-Mbu were renominated among the five National Commissioners who were proposed.

The RECs and National Commissioners both have five-year terms, but they can be reappointed for a second term after passing the requisite screening, according to Prof. Lai Olurode, an ex-INEC Federal Commissioner.

He added that a REC who has served two terms may be appointed as a National Commissioner to serve two more terms of five years each, but they are only permitted to serve two terms in total.

According to him, any REC can be dismissed if there are any doubts about their objectivity in order to protect the process.

He declared, "For ethical grounds, the headquarters may have good information that some RECs should not be permitted to continue and conduct another election. Because of the reports we got, I am aware of a REC who was changed.

Dr. Adekunle Akinola, a political scientist, suggested extending the terms of the RECs to assure trouble-free elections in 2023.

However, he asserted that if the president chose to select new RECs, they ought to be individuals without any political allegiances.

"One of the important aspects of having free, fair, transparent, and credible elections is having non-partisan, competent, and honest people with integrity serve as resident electoral commissioners who will not be card-carrying members of any political parties," said Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group.

As several RECs' terms are coming to a close, it is assumed that by now the government would have looked for trustworthy, non-card-carrying Nigerians who will not be perceived as biased and undermine the election process through their behavior and biases.

Samson Itodo, the executive director of Yiaga Africa, claimed that the nomination of RECs will show whether the president is serious about keeping his commitment to leave behind a trustworthy electoral system.

He declared, "The integrity, competency, and capacity of important INEC professionals, such as RECs, are what determine the credibility of the 2023 election. The President should choose candidates for INEC who have a track record of moral integrity and unblemished reputation.

The Center for Democracy's Director, Idayat Hassan advised the prompt appointment of qualified individuals to the office of the electoral agency, particularly those with integrity and capacity.