The Presidency has dismissed rumours circulating about the sacking of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu.
A viral WhatsApp message had indicated that Mahmood was sacked and replaced with one Prof. Olamilekan.
“INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu has been replaced with Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan by President Tinubu,” the message, which had no attribution, read.
However the presidency described the report as ‘fake news.’
In a statement, O’tega Ogra, Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Digital and New Media, urged the public to disregard such rumours.
He declared that any official announcement regarding the INEC Chairman’s position would be made through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) or other authorized government sources.
Similarly, the Chief Press Secretary CPS to the INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, reacting to the development simply said: “Please, disregard. It is not true.”
Yakubu, who is rounding off his second tenure in office, is expected to exit the system towards the end of the year.
The process of appointing an INEC chairman is the President nominating a candidate and forwarding his particulars to the Department of State Services, DSS, for profiling.
