A National Commissioner at the Independent National Electoral Commission, May Agbamuche-Mbu, has assumed office as the acting Chairman of the Commission following the handover by Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who is proceeding on terminal leave.
The transition took place on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
Yakubu said he stepped down in line with Section 306 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“In recognition of the significant challenges ahead, and having had the honour of serving the Commission for the past 10 years, with only a few weeks remaining in my tenure, I have made a decision,” he said.
“In the interim, I am handing over to one of the most senior national commissioners by date of appointment. Following consultation with other national commissioners, May Agbamuche-Mbu will serve in an acting capacity pending the appointment of a substantive chairman of the Commission.”
Yakubu added that the move would give the appointing authorities enough time to name a new chairman and ensure a smooth transition ahead of upcoming elections.
He expressed gratitude to colleagues, development partners, civil society groups, and Nigerians for their support during his tenure.
“Above all, I thank Nigerians for their comments as well as criticisms, which encouraged rather than discouraged us to persevere,” he said.
He also praised members of the National Youth Service Corps, describing them as “among the most educated, most patriotic, and most knowledgeable election officials I have worked with.”
As part of his farewell, Yakubu presented two publications documenting INEC’s progress from 2015 to 2025 — Election Management in Nigeria 2015–2025 and Innovations in Electoral Technology 2015–2025.
He confirmed that the Commission had already begun preparations for the 2027 general elections, as well as upcoming polls in Anambra, Ekiti, Osun, and the Federal Capital Territory.
“Over the years, we achieved a lot in responding to challenges and introducing many innovations. We have consolidated the biometric register of voters and replaced many of our manual processes with digital platforms and applications,” he noted.
Yakubu, born in May 1962, was first appointed INEC Chairman by former President Muhammadu Buhari on October 21, 2015, and reappointed in 2020 for a second term — the first person in Nigeria’s democratic history to be reappointed to the position.
