President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has flagged off the construction of annex office of Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) in Abuja.
Gatekeepers News reports that during the ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday, INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu expressed gratitude to the president for gracing the occasion.
He noted that the commission has long faced challenges due to overcrowding at its current headquarters, which was inaugurated in December 1997.
Yakubu explained that the building was originally intended for a much smaller organization and has since become inadequate for the commission’s growing operations.
He said, “ 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.”
He added that the lack of space has compelled INEC to rent two additional buildings in Wuse Zone II to support staff and operations, including stakeholder engagements.
According to Yakubu, INEC’s technical team designed the new annex, including modern amenities such as offices, meeting, and conference rooms, a 1,000-seat auditorium, and specialised areas for IT infrastructure like the Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC). The facility will also feature a museum dedicated to Nigeria’s electoral history.
He added, “ 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.”
Describing the project as a personal milestone, Yakubu revealed that the commission had been working for nearly a decade to make the annex a reality.
He exclaimed, “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.”
