INEC Ready to Organize Local Government Elections – Yakubu

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, affirmed the commission’s preparedness to conduct local government elections across Nigeria.

Speaking before a joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on Thursday, July 25, Prof. Yakubu assured lawmakers of INEC’s capability to manage not only the upcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States but also local government elections nationwide.

He emphasized that INEC has the necessary infrastructure and experience, citing successful area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as evidence of its capacity.

Prof. Yakubu proposed that amending the legal framework to assign local government election duties to INEC would enhance electoral regularity, ensure stable tenure, and eliminate the prevalence of caretaker committees seen in state-run elections.

Highlighting INEC’s impartiality, he noted that FCT elections have avoided the dominance of any single political party across all seats, unlike elections conducted by some state electoral commissions.

The chairman stressed that constitutional amendments would be necessary to transfer the responsibility of local government elections to INEC, a move he believes would bolster democratic practices in Nigeria.