Sammy Johnson argues that Yakubu has done exceedingly well
In the last few days, his name has been popping up in the news as a likely successor to Mahmood Yakubu, the erudite Chairman, Independent National Election Commission(INEC)who ended his decade-long tenure on October 7, 2025.Predictably, President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday nominated Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan,SAN, as the new Chairman of the electoral body.The professor of Law hails from Kogi State, North central, Nigeria.The two immediate electoral chairmen were of the Northwest and Northeast extraction.
Undoubtedly, Yakubu can be said to have come, saw and nearly conquered.His first tenure began in October 2015 and renewed in October 2020. He managed numerous elections including two presidential elections (2019 and 2023) and several off-cycle elections: governorships, National Assembly and State House of Assembly to varying degrees of success. There were tepid and sometimes, trenchant criticisms of INEC regarding result transmission and credibility. There were also reported cases of bare-faced violence, vote buying, ballot box snatching, intimidation of Returning officers and other electoral officers. INEC did the needful in each peculiar situation using extant rules governing the conduct and announcement of results. Overall, the score is above average for the electoral manager.