The Senate has confirmed the appointment of five Resident Electoral Commissioners submitted by President Bola Tinubu in March for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The confirmation followed the receipt and consideration of a report by the Chairman of Senate Committee on Electoral Matters during plenary on Wednesday.
Presenting the report on behalf of the Committee, Senator Simon Lalong, urged the Senate to confirm the nomination of five individuals as Resident Electoral Commissioners for the Independent National Electoral Commission having passed the screening exercise.
The approved RECs are Umar Yusuf Garba (Kano State), Sa’ad Umar Idris (Bauchi State), Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziako (Anambra State), Umar Mukhtar (Borno State) and Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem (Bayelsa State).
Tinubu had on Monday swore in two newly appointed INEC commissioners.
Meanwhile, the President has transmitted a proposed ₦1.783 trillion statutory appropriation bill for the FCT to the Senate for consideration and approval for the 2025 financial year.
In his communication to the upper chamber on Wednesday, President Tinubu 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.
Responding to the request, the Senate invoked Order 78 to allow the bill to scale second reading the same day it was introduced.
However, the accelerated process did not go without a grudge as an opposition lawmaker, 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.
The Senate, therefore, began debate on the general principles of the FCT Statutory Appropriation Bill for the 2025 fiscal year.
Leading the debate on the bill, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, explained that the proposed legislation seeks to authorise the issuance of ₦1,783,823,708,392.00 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, and N1.29 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.
