Madar (Abuja) - Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Friday, October 16, 2026, nominated four national commissioners and two resident electoral commissioners for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fill seats left vacant by expiring tenures, according to a presidency statement reported by Nigerian media.
According to the statement from Bayo Onanuga, the president's special adviser on information and strategy, Mustapha Aliu would replace Abdullahi Zuru for the North-West, Bashir Muhammed Umar would succeed Muhammad Adamu for the North-Central, and Oluwatoyin Babalola, currently the resident electoral commissioner in Osun State, would replace Cornelius Ajayi for the South-West when his tenure ends on October 24. Bala Bila was nominated for reappointment for the North-East.
The two resident electoral commissioner nominees are Samuel Akinjide Akinleye for Ekiti State and Zahradden Basiru Sanusi for Jigawa State, replacing Saidu Ahmed Babura, the Punch newspaper reported. All six require Senate confirmation, and Tinubu urged senators to "expedite" it "in view of the forthcoming general elections next January."
The nominations come as INEC handles disputes over candidate eligibility, Channels TV noted. The broadcaster also reported that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has published Tinubu's presidential campaign schedule, opening in Kaduna on October 24 and closing with a rally in Lagos on January 9, 2027.
