Section 1
Establishment of Independent National Electoral Commission(1) The Independent National Electoral Commission as established by section 153 of the Constitution (in this Act referred to as “the Commission”) —
(a) is a body corporate with perpetual succession; and
(b) may sue and be sued in its corporate name.
(2) The National Headquarters of the Commission shall be situated in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This section restates the establishment of INEC as Nigeria’s election management body pursuant to section 153 (1) (f) of the 1999 Constitution.
History: In August 1998, then Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar established the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) via Independent National Electoral Commission Decree No. 17 of 1998. It was set up to manage and oversee voter registration and transition elections for military handover to civilian rule in 1999. What existed before then was the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON) which was dissolved to make way for INEC. The 1998 decree added “Independent” to the name and provided for the INEC Chairman and 12 National Commissioners, among others. Retired Justice Ephraim Akpata was selected to Chair the Commission, a position he held until 2000. The body organized all transitional elections that ushered in the 4th Republic on May 29, 1999.
The minimum age provided in the decree for the position of Chairman of the Commission was 50 years. For other National Commissioners, it was 40 years. This was also contained in the 1999 Constitution, which was eventually amended in 2010 to reduce the age to 40 and 35 years of age for both offices respectively.
History of INEC at https://www.inecnigeria.org/home/inec-history/
NDI Carter Centre 1999 election observation report: https://www.cartercenter.org/documents/1152.pdf
