By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the construction of the annex office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday, Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, commended Tinubu for attending the ceremony.
Yakubu said the commission has long struggled with congestion at its current headquarters, which was commissioned in December 1997.
He said the building, originally designed for a smaller structure, has become overstretched due to the expansion of INEC’s operations over the years.
“Our present national headquarters is severely congested. Today, there are 13 full-time Commission members, 22 Departments/Directorates and 1,048 staff. Every facility is overstretched, from offices to meeting rooms,” Yakubu said.
He explained that the lack of space has forced INEC to rent two additional buildings in Wuse Zone II to accommodate staff and activities, including regular engagements with stakeholders.
Yakubu said INEC’s technical department designed the new annex and will feature modern facilities, including offices, meeting and conference rooms, a 1,000-seat auditorium, and dedicated spaces for IT systems such as the Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC).
He said the new facility will also house a museum chronicling Nigeria’s electoral history.
“This will afford citizens, particularly students who regularly visit the Commission on excursion, the opportunity to appreciate the evolution of our electoral history,” he said.
Yakubu described the project as a personal milestone, adding that the commission had made persistent efforts over the past decade to realise the plan.
“For me personally, this is a special occasion. After almost ten years of persistent effort, the construction of the INEC Annex Building is finally a reality,” he said.