The Senate has confirmed the appointment of five Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as submitted by President Bola Tinubu in March.
The confirmation followed the consideration of a report by the Chairman of Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Senator Simon Lalong during plenary on Wednesday.
Tinubu had on Monday swore in two newly appointed INEC commissioners.
The confirmed RECs are: Umar Yusuf Garba (Kano State), Sa’ad Umar Idris (Bauchi State), Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziako (Anambra State), Umar Mukhtar (Borno State), Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem (Bayelsa State)
Presenting the committee’s report, Lalong urged the Senate to confirm the nomination of the five individuals, stating that they had passed the screening exercise.
In a related development, President Tinubu has transmitted a proposed N1.783 trillion statutory appropriation bill for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to the Senate for consideration and approval for the 2025 financial year.
The President urged the Senate to give the bill expedited consideration, noting that its passage was critical to ensuring an effective and service-oriented administration for residents of the FCT.
The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, explained that the proposed legislation sought to authorize the issuance of N1,783,823,708,392.00 trillion from the FCT Administration’s Statutory Revenue Fund to finance personnel, overhead, and capital expenditures between January 1 and December 31, 2025.
The budget breakdown includes:
N150.35 billion for personnel costs, N343.78 billion for overhead, 1.29 trillion allocated for capital projects
Bamidele underscored that the primary objective of the budget was to drive an effective and enduring service-oriented administration, with a strong focus on completing ongoing projects that have significant impacts on infrastructure and essential services in Abuja.
However, Senator Abdul Ningi raised concerns about the procedure under Order 77 (3 and 4), pointing out that lawmakers had not been provided with copies of the bill prior to the debate.
Despite this, the Senate began debate on the general principles of the FCT Statutory Appropriation Bill for the 2025 fiscal year.
