THE Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has embarked on a one-month pre-exit leave after completing his second term as head of the nation’s electoral body.
Yakubu, who served for ten years, handed over to National Commissioner May Agbamuche-Mbu, who will serve as Acting INEC Chairman pending the appointment of a substantive chairman by President Bola Tinubu.
The handover ceremony took place on Tuesday, October 7, during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Yakubu, who was first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015 after succeeding Attahiru Jega, who supervised the 2015 general election.
He was reappointed for a second term in 2020 by the administration of former president Muhammadu Buhari.
Under his leadership, INEC oversaw the conduct of two general elections (2019 and 2023), as well as several off-cycle governorship elections across the country.
Although the commission recorded significant technological reforms, including the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, its 2023 election management drew mixed reactions, with many Nigerians and observers questioning the credibility of result transmission.
Beyond that many of the elections he supervised have been criticised by local and international observers for inadequacies.
Meanwhile, Agbamuche-Mbu is expected to oversee the affairs of INEC until a new chairman is appointed.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M