At last, Dr. Asma’u Sani Maikudi, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) designate from Katsina State finally got her appointment letter last night.
Daily Trust gathered from reliable sources that Dr. Maikudi was asked to report at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), this morning and was subsequently given her letter of appointment.
Sources at INEC headquarters in Abuja said she would be sworn-in this afternoon alongside her colleagues cleared by the Senate.
Dr. Maikudi’s letter was reportedly hijacked by a “cabal at the Presidency,” who allegedly felt she should not represent Katsina State at INEC.
The development had elicited backlash from various quarters, including CSOs and women groups.
She is the only female among the 27 people nominated by President Muhammadu, in March.
Speaking with the Daily Trust, Dr. Maikudi confirmed the receipt of her appointment letter today.
“I received a call last night and when I went to the SGF office, I was given my letter of appointment. We would be sworn-in later today, Insha Allah,” she said.
Dr. Maikudi’s travails came to the fore soon after she passed all stages for the appointment, including clearance from the DSS, the Code of Conduct Bureau and confirmation by the Senate on July 20.
It was gathered that though President Buhari pencilled her for the post based on merit, some forces at the Presidency were allegedly not comfortable with her representing Katsina State.
The Senate had divided the 27 nominees into two batches for screening and confirmed the first 15 on June 1.
On July 20, the Senate confirmed eight of the remaining 12 nominees, including Dr. Maikudi and deferred the nomination of four others.
All her seven colleagues got their letters thereafter from the SGF office after approval from the Presidency. They included Mr Sam Olumekun (Ondo), Prof. Riskuwa Shehu (Sokoto), Kassim Gana Gaidam (Yobe), Jibrin Zarewa (Kano), Prof. Samuel Egwu (Kogi), Mr. Mike Igini (Delta) and Abdulganiyu Raji (Oyo).
Those whose confirmation was deferred included nominees from Niger, Kebbi, Zamfara and Lagos states over some contentious issues.
