President Buhari on Monday administered the oath of office and allegiance to the new chairman of the INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu and five INEC commissioners.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu
While swearing in the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, in the council chamber today, President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to respect the independence of the electoral body, promising that he would not interfere with its functions.
"I pledge to respect the independence of the commission, we will not interfere in its operation," Buhari said,
At the ceremony which took place inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the president assured that his administration will deliver all-encompassing change to Nigeria that will not only reflect in governance, but also in work ethics.
He observed that all Nigerians have a responsibility to safeguard the sanctity of democracy including transparent electoral process, free and fair elections.
The President also said that a situation where people hide under technicalities to deny the citizens their rights is unacceptable. He called on state governments to make their electoral bodies to work for the benefit of all.
The President further decried a situation where elections are cancelled without investigations into what led to such cancellations so as to prosecute offenders. He stated that perpetrators of electoral violence should be made to face the full weight of the law.
The event was witnessed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, among other top government officials.