Gesila Khan

Gesila Khan is the current Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission Cross River State Branch. She held the same position at the Delta State Branch from 2012 to 2014 and at the Rivers State Branch from 2014 to 2016.

Personal life

Khan is originally from Bayelsa State, in southern Nigeria. She is married.[1][2][3]

Career

Khan assumed office as Resident Electoral Commissioner for Delta State in 2012, where she served until her redeployment to Rivers State in December 2014.[4] She oversaw the conduct of the March and April 2015 general elections in Rivers State, a particularly contentious electoral exercise that was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.[5]

In January 2016, INEC redeployed her from Rivers State to Cross River State as Resident Electoral Commissioner.[6]

EFCC arrest

In April 2016, Khan was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Port Harcourt in connection with allegations of receiving ₦185.8 million ahead of the 2015 general elections in Rivers State.[7] The Ijaw Youth Council condemned her arrest, describing it as a politically motivated action and demanding her immediate release.[8]

Chieftaincy title

While serving as REC in Cross River State, Khan was conferred with a chieftaincy title by the people of Gesila community in Yakkur Local Government Area, who celebrated her for sharing the same name as their community. The name Gesila means bravery, preciousness, and trustworthiness in the Yakkur dialect, with a similar meaning in Ijaw.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Rivers Gets New REC". The Tide. Port Harcourt, Nigeria. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Deployment Of Resident Electoral Commissioners". INEC. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Obe, Emmanuel (4 August 2014). "INEC, Delta mobilise voters to collect cards". The Punch. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Dame Khan Takes Over as New Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers". BellaNaija. 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
  5. ↑ "Governorship Polls EFCC Arrests INEC Officials For Taking N675m In Bribes". Sahara Reporters. New York City, United States. 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
  6. ↑ "INEC shuffle RECs moves Gesila Khan from Rivers". P.M. News. Lagos, Nigeria. 2016-01-28. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
  7. ↑ "Why Gesila Khan Ex-Rivers REC was arrested by EFCC". The News Nigeria. 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
  8. ↑ "EFCC arrests Gesila Khan rigger-in-chief for Wike". The News Nigeria. 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
  9. ↑ "Tale of 2 Gesilas When Gesila community honoured Dame Gesila". Vanguard. 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2026-06-30.


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