By Ifeanyi Okwara
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has disclosed why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cannot send Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on terminal leave.
Falana, who made the submission on Friday in a statement, averred that the President has no constitutional rights to do so.
This he said, was to dismiss the widespread speculation that Tinubu had ordered Yakubu to step aside ahead of the expiration of his tenure as punishment for allegedly betraying the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the last elections.
National Beam reports that the rumours intensified after INEC abruptly cancelled its quarterly consultative meetings with political parties and civil society organisations, scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
Falana, however, maintained that such a directive would be unconstitutional, citing provisions that guarantee the commission’s independence.
“Unlike other federal executive bodies, the Independent National Electoral Commission has the power to make its own rules or otherwise regulate its own procedure, and such powers shall not be subject to the approval or control of the President,” he stated.
He added that, by law, the president cannot compel the INEC chairman to embark on terminal leave
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