Falana: Tinubu Lacks Power to Force INEC Chair on Terminal Leave

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has declared that President Bola Tinubu has no constitutional authority to compel the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to proceed on terminal leave.

Falana made this clarification in a statement on Friday following viral reports alleging that the President had ordered the INEC boss to step aside as retribution for his supposed “last-minute betrayal” of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 elections.

According to the speculation, Yakubu was directed to suspend official duties ahead of the expiration of his tenure — a move said to have unsettled the electoral body’s schedule. The reports gained traction after INEC abruptly cancelled its quarterly consultative meeting with political parties and a planned engagement with civil society organisations, both originally slated for Wednesday.

Reacting, Falana stressed that constitutional safeguards insulate the commission from presidential interference, noting that unlike other federal executive agencies, INEC regulates its own procedures independent of the President.

“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. To that extent, President Bola Tinubu cannot direct the INEC chairman to proceed on terminal leave,” he stated.