President Goodluck Jonathan will not be appointing a replacement for the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega before handing over power on May 29, 2015.
This was disclosed to Punch on April 15, Wednesday by a Presidency official in Abuja.
Jega’s tenure is expected to end on June 30.
According to the official, President Jonathan’s tenure will end on May 29 and there was no need for him to “hurriedly appoint another INEC chairman.”
The law establishing the commission stipulates that the “chairman and members of the commission shall each hold office for a period of five years and on such terms and conditions as may be specified in their letters of appointment.”
A minister, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that it would not be appropriate for the President to appoint a substantive chairman when he would be leaving before the chairman of the electoral body.
Jega, who was appointed by Jonathan in June 2010, to replace Prof. Maurice Iwu as the chairman of the commission has supervised two national elections.
He supervised the 2011 general election, which saw Jonathan of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) emerge as the President.
He also supervised the just concluded 2015 general elections, where Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the presidential election.
The INEC Chairman had earlier stated that he isn’t interested in a renewal of his appointment.
Speaking with BBC Hausa Service in Abuja on April 1, he had said: “I am grateful to God. I was asked to come and contribute my own quota to national development and I have done my bit to the best of my ability.
“Whatever assignment one will do for five years – just like this difficult one, to me if one is able to successfully accomplish the task, someone else should be given the opportunity, because for me I am not interested and if I am requested to serve again, I will not do it, by God’s grace.”
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