Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), asserted on Friday that President Bola Tinubu lacks the constitutional power to send the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on terminal leave.
Falana addressed a viral report from Wednesday alleging that Tinubu had ordered the INEC boss to proceed on compulsory leave to avenge his “alleged last-minute betrayal of the ruling All Progressives Congress.”
The unconfirmed reports claimed that Yakubu was directed to suspend official duties ahead of the expiration of his tenure in October 2025.
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This speculation reportedly gained traction after the Commission cancelled a scheduled quarterly consultative meeting with political parties and a planned session with civil society organisations.
In a statement made available to PUNCH, Falana emphasised that the constitutional provisions governing INEC make it impossible for Tinubu to lawfully order Yakubu on terminal leave.
He asserted: “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.”
Falana concluded: “To that extent, President Bola Tinubu cannot direct the INEC chairman to proceed on terminal leave.”
Yakubu, who was first appointed in 2015 and reappointed in 2020, is expected to complete his second term in October 2025, which would make him the first INEC chairman to serve two terms.
Although there has been no official statement from the presidency, the reports indicating Yakubu’s forced ouster have triggered heated reactions on social media.
Yakubu himself signaled that the Commission’s work is ongoing by chairing INEC’s weekly management meeting on Thursday, hours after the alleged directive, and even approved promotions for junior staff.
Falana recalled that a similar claim circulated in 2015 that then INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had been sent on three months’ terminal leave.
Falana said, “We pointed out at the material time that the INEC chairman could not be directed by any authority to embark on terminal leave. It turned out that the President did not give any such directive,” adding that the rumour later proved false.
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