By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a new acting chairman in the person of Mr Sam Olumekun.
Olumekun, who is INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, was referred to as acting INEC Chairman at a meeting he held with the Labour Party leadership on Wednesday.
The Metro understands that Professor Yakubu is currently in the Gambia to participate in the ECONEC (ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions) meeting.
Per constitutional provision, the tenure of an INEC chairman is five years and they have historically left at the end of their terms if not renewed.
Yakubu assumed the role on November 9, 2015. He became the first INEC chairman to be sworn in for second term after former President Muhammadu Buhari renewed his appointment in 2020.
Section 157 of the constitution stipulates that the president can only remove the INEC chairman with the support of two-thirds of the Senate.
Meanwhile, the new acting chairman, Olumekun, met with a delegation of the Labour Party, led by Abia State Governor Dr Alex Otti, who visited INEC headquarters in Abuja.
Days ago, reports claimed that President Bola Tinubu had sacked Yakubu as INEC chairman and replaced him with Professor Bashiru Olamilekan.
However, the presidency debunked the reports. The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Digital and New Media, O’tega Ogra, urged the public to disregard the reports as “fake news”.
Ogra noted that such an announcement would come through official channels such as the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Amid reports of his sacking, Professor Yakubu presided over INEC’s weekly meeting at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
The meeting included several national commissioners, including Olumekun.
“Crucial decisions would be taken at the meeting,” INEC had said in a tweet.