Falana: Tinubu Cannot Send INEC Boss on Terminal Leave

Falana: Tinubu Cannot Send INEC Boss on Terminal Leave

 

 

 

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has dismissed claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to proceed on terminal leave.

 

Falana spoke on Friday following viral reports that Tinubu had allegedly directed Yakubu to take compulsory leave, citing a supposed last-minute “betrayal” of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

 

The reports, which gained traction after INEC cancelled a quarterly consultative meeting with political parties and a planned engagement with civil society groups, suggested that Yakubu’s official duties would be suspended ahead of the expiration of his tenure in October 2025.

 

Yakubu, first appointed in 2015 by former President Muhammadu Buhari and reappointed in 2020, is set to complete his second term next month, becoming the first INEC chairman to serve two terms.

 

Falana, referencing the Constitution, said Tinubu has no legal power to send the INEC boss on leave. “Unlike other federal executive bodies, INEC regulates its own procedures and is not subject to presidential control. The President cannot direct the INEC chairman to embark on terminal leave,” he said.

 

INEC spokesperson Rotimi Oyekanmi also urged Nigerians to consult Sections 154(1), 157(1), and 160(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which outline that the Chairman can only be removed by a two-thirds Senate majority on grounds of misconduct or incapacity.

 

Yakubu chaired INEC’s weekly management meeting on Thursday, hours after the alleged directive, approving promotions for junior staff, signalling that the commission’s work remains uninterrupted.

 

Falana recalled that in 2015, similar claims emerged about former INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, being sent on terminal leave, but these were later proven false.

 

He concluded: “The INEC chairman is not subject to any authority that can compel him to take terminal leave. Past rumours to this effect have always proven baseless.”