President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated four new national commissioners and two Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to fill vacancies at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), urging the Senate to expedite their confirmation ahead of the forthcoming general elections in January 2027.
The nominations were announced in a State House press release issued on Friday, October 16, 2026, by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
According to the statement, President Tinubu has also reappointed Dr Bala Bila as the national commissioner representing the North-East geopolitical zone.
The new national commissioners include Professor Mustapha Aliu, who will replace Professor Abdullahi Zuru as the representative of the North-West, and Bashir Muhammed Umar, who will replace Professor Muhammad Adamu as the North-Central representative.
The President also nominated Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, the current Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, as the new national commissioner representing the South-West. She is expected to replace Professor Cornelius Ajayi, whose tenure expires on October 24, 2026.
For the Resident Electoral Commissioner positions, Tinubu nominated retired Permanent Secretary Dr Samuel Akinjide Akinleye to represent Ekiti State, while Zahradden Basiru Sanusi, from Jigawa State, was nominated to replace Professor Saidu Ahmed Babura.
The statement noted that all the nominees would be scrutinised by the Senate before their appointments are confirmed.
President Tinubu urged the Senate to expedite the confirmation process, citing the need to fill the vacancies ahead of the forthcoming general elections scheduled for January 2027.
