The Senate Committee on Electoral Matters has screened nominees from President Tinubu for confirmation as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the Independent National Commission (INEC).
The screening, which was held today, Tuesday 6th May, 2025 in the Senate New Building Room 221, was in compliance with the provisions of section 154(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Ali, Chairman of the committee, in his remarks commended the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Basheer Lado Mohammed, for his proactiveness and dedication to duty upon his prompt presentation of the presidential nominees to the committee for screening.
Welcoming the members of the committee to the screening session, Ali stressed that they were not gathered as lawmakers, but as custodians of Nigerian democracy tasked with the sacred responsibility of ensuring that those who oversee the electoral process are people of integrity, impartiality and competence.
He added that the integrity of any democracy rests solely on the credibility of its election, and that credibility is in turn dependent on the integrity of the institutions and individuals who manage them.
Admonishing the nominees, the chairman said INEC was not just a bureaucratic body, but it is also the heartbeat of Nigerian democratic process.
He said the RECs must be impartial arbiters insulated from political pressure, guided by the rule of law and committed to the principle of transparency, fairness and justice
“Our aim here today,” he said, “is to scrutinise the qualification, experience, character, competence and commitment required to discharge the mandate of the office with impartiality, trust that the sanctity of the ballot and the will of the people will be upheld, it is an exercise of due diligence on behalf of the people.”
The chairman congratulated the nominees, saying that their nomination is in itself a recognition of service and expertise.
He thereafter invited the nominees to brief the committee on their knowledge of electoral integrity, past role in public or private service and their readiness to put the nation before personal or partisan interest.
Members of the committee on their part individually called on the nominees to put the interest of Nigeria and the people first in discharge of their duties if confirmed.
Questions were also raised by the committee members for clarification by the nominees.
The nominees all pledged to carry out their mandate with diligence if confirmed.
The list of the presidential nominees for confrontation as RECs and their states are:
- Umar Yusuf Garba – Kano State
- Saad Umar – Bauchi State
- Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziako – Anambra State
- Umar Mukhtar – Borno State
- Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem – Bayelsa State.
