President Goodluck Jonathan has nominated a university don, Attahiru Jega, to head the nation’s electoral agency, Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole said on Tuesday.
The National Council of State — a body that comprises the president, state governors, the speakers of the senate and lower house of parliament, and past heads of state — unanimously approved the nomination of Jega, he said.
“The Council considered the president’s nominee, Professor Attahiru Jega, for appointment as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The Council unanimously approved of it,” Oshiomhole told reporters after the Council’s meeting.
Jega, the current vice chancellor of the Bayero Univerrsity in Kano, had between 1988 and 1994 been the president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the umbrella union for university teachers.
If his nomination is approved by the senate, he will replace , Maurice Iwu, who was sacked by Jonathan recently following pressure, especially from human rights and civil society groups.
Jega, with 19 INEC commissioners also nominated by Jonathan, would organise next year’s poll.
The appointment of a new electoral chief is seen as a major step in preparation for the election.