By DAVID IORJA, Abuja-
President Bola Tinubu has described the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the backbone of Nigeria’s democratic journey.
He stated this while inaugurating the construction of a new INEC Annex Office to complement its current headquarters in Abuja.
Tinubu emphasized the importance of INEC’s role in conducting free, fair, and credible elections, saying, “The new headquarters is a clear signal of our unwavering support for INEC autonomy, capacity, and growth. It will provide, not just a conducive home, but a home for innovation planning, training, and transparency in electoral administration.”
The President pledged his administration’s commitment to ensuring that INEC is fully equipped to carry out its constitutional mandate.
“We are committed to ensuring that INEC is fully equipped, not only in infrastructure, but in law, policy, and resources to carry out its constitutional mandate with courage, fairness, and excellence,” he said.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, commended Tinubu and the FCT administration for addressing the commission’s long-standing issue of inadequate office accommodation. “The current INEC national headquarters, inaugurated in December 1997, has become severely congested,” he said.
“The new building will help alleviate this congestion and provide a better working environment for our staff.”
The new annex office will feature a museum to serve as a repository for the physical and digital history of elections and electoral activities in Nigeria. Yakubu said, “This will afford citizens, particularly students that regularly visit the commission on excursion, the opportunity to appreciate the evolution of our electoral history as is the case in many jurisdictions around the world.”
The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, assured Tinubu that the project would be given the needed attention to ensure its completion before the end of his tenure.
“We will ensure that this project is completed on time and to the satisfaction of the President and the Nigerian people,” he said.
