By George Mgbeleke <\/p>\n
In a surprise leadership shake-up at Nigeria\u2019s electoral umpire, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has handed over the reins of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to National Commissioner May Agbamuche-Mbu, who now serves as Acting National Chairman.<\/p>\n
Yakubu made the announcement on Tuesday during a high-level meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.<\/p>\n
Agbamuche-Mbu, the oldest-serving National Commissioner by date of appointment, is stepping into the top role at a critical time for Nigeria\u2019s electoral system, as the commission faces mounting pressure to implement deep reforms and restore public trust ahead of future elections.<\/p>\n
The outgoing National Chairman of INEC made this disclosure at the third regular quarterly meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for 2025, held at the Commission\u2019s headquarters in Abuja.<\/p>\n
Prof. Yakubu welcomed the commissioners to what would be his final quarterly engagement as chairman, expressing gratitude for their support and dedication over the years. <\/p>\n
The meeting, he noted, coincided with the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which began seven weeks ago.<\/p>\n
According to him,the latest figures released by the Commission, 6.8 million Nigerians have commenced their registration online, while 1.2 million have completed their registration in person.<\/p>\n
The CVR exercise, he explained, will continue until August 2026, when it will be suspended not later than 90 days before the next general election in line with legal provisions.<\/p>\n
Prof. Yakubu highlighted the Commission\u2019s ongoing preparations for several major elections, including the Anambra State Governorship Election scheduled for next month, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections in February 2026, the Ekiti State Governorship Election in June 2026, and the Osun State Governorship Election in August 2026.<\/p>\n
He further disclosed that INEC has already commenced preliminary activities for the 2027 General Election, pending the passage of a new Electoral Act currently before the National Assembly.<\/p>\n
The anticipated reforms, he noted, would necessitate revisions to the Commission\u2019s regulations, guidelines, and election manuals.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on his decade-long leadership, Prof. Yakubu detailed INEC\u2019s extensive digital transformation, including the consolidation of the biometric register of voters and the replacement of several manual processes with technology-driven platforms.<\/p>\n
Among these innovations are systems for candidate nomination, accreditation of observers and media, submission of polling and collation agents, voter accreditation, and result management. He also mentioned new technologies introduced with the support of development partners to enhance collation management, election monitoring, and training of electoral staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Commission has made tremendous progress,\u201d he said, \u201cbut a lot more still needs to be done, especially in cleaning up the voters\u2019 register, reviewing polling unit locations, and improving the management of internally displaced persons (IDPs) during elections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prof. Yakubu announced that, in accordance with Section 306(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), he had decided to step down. Following consultations with other national commissioners, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, the most senior National Commissioner by date of appointment, will assume office as Acting Chairman pending the appointment of a substantive head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will allow the appointing authorities enough time to name a new chairman and enable smooth transition as the Commission prepares for major elections ahead,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Prof. Yakubu expressed deep appreciation to the 24 National Commissioners and 67 Resident Electoral Commissioners he had worked with since 2015, as well as the staff of the Commission nationwide. He extended gratitude to the National Assembly, political parties, the National Peace Committee chaired by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (GCFR), civil society groups, the media, labour unions, security agencies, and development partners for their cooperation and support.<\/p>\n
He reserved special praise for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), describing corps members as \u201cthe most patriotic, educated, and dedicated election officials,\u201d and acknowledged his family for their patience throughout his tenure.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigerians\u2019 comments and criticisms encouraged rather than discouraged us to persevere,\u201d he said. \u201cTogether, we built a foundation for credible elections in Africa\u2019s most populous democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prof. Yakubu unveiled two major publications chronicling his decade-long stewardship:
\n\u2022 \u201cElection Management in Nigeria 2015\u20132025\u201d \u2014 a comprehensive compendium of INEC\u2019s activities over the last ten years, and
\n\u2022 \u201cInnovations in Electoral Technology 2015\u20132025\u201d \u2014 a detailed account of the technological reforms introduced under his leadership.<\/p>\n
Both publications, he announced, are available on the Commission\u2019s website for public access.<\/p>\n
The outgoing chairman offered prayers for Nigeria\u2019s continued democratic growth and officially handed over his notes to Mrs. Agbamuche-Mbu.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith your indulgence,\u201d he said with a smile, \u201cI would like to invite you all to join me for a farewell photograph. From this point onward, this meeting will be chaired by the Acting Chairman of the Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prof. Yakubu\u2019s departure marks the end of a defining era in Nigeria\u2019s electoral history \u2014 one characterized by innovation, transparency, and an unwavering commitment to deepening democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke In a surprise leadership shake-up at Nigeria\u2019s electoral umpire, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has handed over the reins of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to National Commissioner May Agbamuche-Mbu, who now serves as Acting National Chairman. Yakubu made the announcement on Tuesday during a high-level meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[480,3330,2257,4907,888],"class_list":["post-7736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-appointment","tag-characterized","tag-innovation","tag-stepping","tag-transparency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7736"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7740,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7736\/revisions\/7740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}