Femi Falana, SAN, a human rights attorney, claims that President Bola Tinubu lacks the constitutional authority to place Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, on terminal leave.
Femi Falana made this claim in a statement on Friday in response to a widely circulated rumour that said Tinubu had forced the head of INEC to take mandatory vacation in order to exact revenge for his alleged betrayal of the ruling All Progressives Congress, or APC, at the last minute.
The INEC boss was reportedly instructed to stop official activities before to the conclusion of his term, which caused disruptions to INEC’s schedule.
Following the electoral body’s cancellation of its quarterly consultation meeting with political parties and a scheduled session with civil society organisations that was supposed to start on Wednesday, the rumours gained traction.
But in response, the senior advocate, Femi Falana emphasised that Tinubu could not legally place Yakubu on terminal leave due to constitutional requirements.
“Unlike other federal executive bodies, the Independent National Electoral Commission, its powers to make its own rules or otherwise regulate its own procedure shall not be subject to the approval or control of the President.
“To that extent, President Bola Tinubu cannot direct the INEC chairman to proceed on terminal leave,” he said.
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