Senate confirms Chira as auditor-general, Akpabio’s ally as INEC REC

The senate has confirmed Shaakaa Chira (pictured) as the auditor-general of the federation (AuGF).

Also, the upper legislative chamber confirmed seven nominees as resident electoral commissioners (RECs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

One of the nominees is Etekamba Umoren, an ally of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Umoren, a former chief of staff to the governor of Akwa Ibom, was confirmed as the REC for the state.

The other INEC RECs confirmed are Isah Shaka Ehimeakne (Edo), Oluwatoyin Babalola (Ekiti), Abubakar Ahmed Ma’aji (Gombe), Shehu Wahab (Kwara), Aminu Idris (Nasarawa), and Mohammed Sadiq (Niger).

The senate president’s ally was named in an alleged financial malpractice and grilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2015.

During the screening, Umoren only took two questions before he was asked to “take a bow and go”.

When asked by Jibrin Barau, deputy president of the senate, if he will replicate the hard work he is known for over the years, he said: “Yes”.

“It is a national assignment, sir. My loyalty goes to the country,” he said.

As auditor-general of the federation, Chira would be manning an office that had been vacant for about a year.

Adolphus Aghughu, the last auditor-general, retired in September 2022.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari did not appoint anyone to the position before exiting office in May.