Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), said that President Bola Tinubu does not have the constitutional power to send the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on terminal leave.
Falana was reacting to a viral report which emerged on Wednesday alleging that Tinubu had ordered the INEC chairman to proceed on compulsory leave over his alleged last-minute betrayal of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
According to the report which is yet to be confirmed, Yakubu was directed to suspend official duties ahead of the expiration of his tenure.
It seemed like the reports gained ground after INEC cancelled its quarterly consultative meeting with political parties and a planned session with civil society organisations, which had been scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
Appointed in 2015 by former President Muhammadu Buhari and reappointed in 2020 after Senate confirmation, Yakubu was to complete his second tenure in October 2025.
He was supposed to emerge as the first INEC chairman to serve two terms since the commission was established.
Reacting to the report on Thursday via X, Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, insisted that the directive was real and linked to Yakubu’s upcoming exit in October.
But former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, dismissed the claims as “most likely social media entertainment news.”
While the speculations were still on, Yakubu himself chaired INEC’s weekly management meeting on Thursday, hours after the alleged directive, and even approved promotions for junior staff.
Meanwhile, in a statement on Saturday, Falana emphasized that the provisions in Sections 154(1) and 157(1) of the Constitution had made it impossible for Tinubu to lawfully order Yakubu on terminal leave.
According to the mentioned sections of the constitution above, while the President nominates the INEC Chairman, Senate confirmation is required, and removal can only occur with a two-thirds majority of the Senate based on incapacity or misconduct.
Also, Section 160(1) protects the commission from executive control, granting it the authority to regulate its own procedures.
He said; “Unlike other federal executive bodies, the Independent National Electoral Commission, its powers to make its own rules or otherwise regulate its own procedure shall not be subject to the approval or control of the President.
“To that extent, President Bola Tinubu cannot direct the INEC chairman to proceed on terminal leave.”
