Senate confirms The Daily Times story, okays 15 INEC RECs

.Defers confirmation of 12 others

The Senate on Thursday confirmed the story of The Daily Times as it approved the nomination of 15 out of 27 nominees submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari for position of Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Daily Times had exclusively reported that the Senate would confirm the nomination of the RECs this week to set the tone for preparations by INEC for the 2019 general election.

The Senate while considering the Report tabled by its Committee on INEC which screened the nominees gave express approval to the nomination of the listed 15 as proposed by the committee.

The Chairman Senate committee on INEC, Senator Suleiman Nazif, presented the Report before the Senate dissolved into Committee of the whole for consideration.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in March forwarded names of the 27 nominees to the Senate to represent all parts of Nigeria for screening and confirmation.

The 15 nominees who scaled through with Senate confirmation include Prof. Godswill Obioma (Abia); James Iorliam Apam (Benue); Dr. Nwachukwu Orji (Ebonyi); Dr. Iloh Joseph Valentine Chuks (Enugu); Dr. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda (Plateau); and Umar Ibrahim (Taraba).

Others are Mr. Emeka Ononamadu Joseph (Imo); Obo Effanga (Cross River); Prof. Francis Chukwuemeka Ezeonu (Anambra); Dr. Briyai Frankland (Bayelsa); Ibrahim Abdullahi (Adamawa); and Agboke Mutiu Olaleke (Ogun).

The above listed nominees were confirmed for new appointments while the remaining three nominees out of the 15 confirmed were re-appointed.

Those re-appointed for the INEC RECs are Hussaini Halilu Pai (FCT); Alhaji Ahmad Makama (Bauchi); and Sadiq Abubakar Musa (Kaduna).

The Daily Times further gathered that nominees whose process of confirmation was put on hold had petitions filed against them while one of the Senate Committee members said the matter would be treated in due course.
When contacted, the Senate Committee Chairman on INEC, Senator Nazif, said his committee has screened and confirmed 15 out 27 REC.

He said the REC nominees fulfilled all the necessary pre-requisites needed for their confirmation, which, according to him fell within Batch ‘A’, adding that “the remaining 12 other REC nominees falls in Batch B”.

The Chairman further stressed that the remaining REC nominees, are at the moment, undergoing the process of confirmation.