By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
President Muhammadu Buhari has administered the oath of office in Professor Mahmood Yakubu for a second term as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The President performed the ceremony on Wednesday shortly before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Council Chamber of the presidential villa, Abuja.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after the swearing in, the INEC boss said the commission has showed that the conduct of elections in the country is increasingly improving.
He said INEC will work with the National Assembly to ensure the speedy passage of the electoral amendments, which he said will help to surmount the current challenges.
Prof. Yakubu noted: “We have clearly demonstrated in recent elections that elections are getting better and they will continue to get better.
“The National Assembly is holding a public hearing on the amendment of the electoral legal framework. This is important and this time around, working with the National Assembly, we’ll ensure a speedy passage of the amendment bill and once it is assented to, it will help us enormously in confronting the challenges ahead.
“The preparations for 2023 general elections have proceeded in earnest, we need certainty and therefore the electoral legal framework is fundamental, without which we cannot formulate our regulations and guidelines.
Without our regulations and guidelines, we cannot conclude work on the manual for the training of ad-hoc staff for the elections.
“So from here, I am going to proceed to the National Assembly, so work begins in earnest and we have already started.”
