He may not be fancied by many Nigerians as the perfect electoral umpire chief, however on this piece, analysts, commentators, and books state in any other case, highlighting the distinctive successes recorded underneath his management of the INEC in Nigeria. Sunday Okobi brings the excerpts:
Little question, the Chairman of the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, seen with a distinct lens, has had a justifiable share of contributions to the Nigeria’s electoral system. He has in a number of methods stamped his title within the annals of the Nigerian democracy because the longest-serving helmsman of the electoral physique.
In a ebook, ‘Improvements in Electoral Expertise: 2015 –2025’ just lately printed by the Fee, analysts, public commentators and contributors said that underneath the watchful eyes of Prof. Yakubu, INEC has improved the administration of elections in Nigeria in comparison with the earlier period, particularly with main improvements in electoral know-how deployed to enhance effectivity within the administration of the electoral course of and conduct of elections.
The ebook, which chronicles the applied sciences designed, developed and deployed by the INEC to rework the electoral course of in Nigeria between 2015 and 2025, attributed the flexibility of the Fee to deploy electoral know-how to the Electoral Act 2022, which supplied the authorized foundation for the usage of related applied sciences and deployment of digital portals, instruments and platforms within the conduct of electoral actions.
The Electoral Act 2022, championed by Yakubu, modified all the things. It pressured political events to have primaries fairly early in order to allow a lot time for marketing campaign, due to this fact offering a extra degree taking part in area for opposition events. The Act gave INEC higher oversight on political social gathering primaries which has improved inside democracy in some methods inside the political events; the Act additionally clearly required these in authorities to go away workplace in the event that they need to contest elections, thereby additionally levelling the taking part in area for all events and candidates, in opposition to the earlier apply.
Additionally, particularly, Sections 9(2), 47(2), 50(2), and 60(5) legally empowered the Fee to deploy the know-how of its selection for voter registration, voter accreditation, voting at an election and the transmission of outcomes. This enabled it to undertake and deploy related applied sciences for the registration and authentication of eligible voters utilizing the INEC Voter Enrolment Machine (IVED) for each fingerprint and facial recognition and the usage of the INEC Biometric Voter Accreditation Machine (BVAS) for the voter accreditation and the importing of scanned copies of the Types EC8As (polling unit outcomes) to the INEC Outcome Viewing (IReV) Portal for public view.
It additionally allowed INEC to introduce a number of portals, instruments and platforms for managing candidate nomination, recruitment of advert hoc workers, the accreditation of political social gathering brokers, election observers, and the media, monetary reporting and auditing by social gathering funds, election assist, safety and supply of on-line coaching for electoral officers, in addition to for public enlightenment and media monitoring.
Earlier than Yakubu assumed workplace in 2015, there have been six Commissions since INEC was established in August 1998. These are – the Akpata Fee (August 1998 – January 2000); the Guobadia Fee (Might 2000 – Might 2005); the Iwu Fee (June 2005 – Might 2010), the Jega Fee (June 2010 – June 2015) and the successive Yakubu Commissions (November 2015 – November 2020 and December 2020 – December 2025).
From 1998 to 2025, these Commissions have between them performed seven successive common elections and a whole bunch of off-cycle governorship, re-run, court docket ordered and bye elections. Though the conduct of elections and the administration of the electoral course of at first had been largely fundamental, the Fee was repeatedly studying classes for the continual enchancment of the electoral and political processes.
Thus, classes learnt from earlier elections had been progressively utilized to subsequent elections to enhance the Fee’s electoral laws and procedures, deepen the usage of know-how, strengthen the electoral authorized framework, in addition to to deepen the professionalisation of workers.
Though the gradual enhancements witnessed some challenges within the 2003 and 2007 common election, adjudged the worst since 1998, the Fee from 2010 had repeatedly striven in the direction of a greater organised, extra clear, credible, and inclusive electoral course of.
The 2010 Fee started an period of a extra systematised and coordinated strategy to electoral reforms not solely within the processes and procedures for the conduct of elections, but additionally in election administration and administration. These reforms ranged from the reorganisation of the Fee’s administrative construction to modifications within the electoral authorized framework, introduction of a information and innovation-driven election planning and administration, growth in the usage of electoral know-how, in addition to the promotion and growth of inclusivity within the electoral course of for girls, youth, individuals with incapacity (PwDs) and internally displaced individuals (IDPs).
Sources within the electoral house have famous that the last decade between 2015 and 2025 has been one of the vital momentous within the historical past of the administration of elections in Nigeria. They, nevertheless, said that there have been a number of milestones, many challenges and helpful classes within the conduct of elections and the administration of the method inside this era.
Based on the Government Director of the Centre for Media, Coverage and Accountability, Abuja, Dr. Suleiman A. Suleiman, the interval has not solely expertise enchancment within the administration of election within the nation, the opposition events have additionally actually recorded extra beneficial properties with the present INEC led by Yakubu.
He added that as the standard and integrity of Nigerian elections improved significantly throughout every election since 2011, the aggressive fortunes of opposition events and candidates have additionally vastly elevated, “the place they virtually by no means received something earlier than.”
Suleiman described the 2023 elections as one of the best marker of the optimistic growth for opposition events to date, “as demonstrated by the electoral fortunes of the PDP, LP, NNPP, SDP, ADC, and others throughout all of the elections that yr. “For instance, a handful of in any other case ‘small’ opposition events received 70 Nationwide Meeting seats and two governorship seats between them for the very first time of their historical past, whereas seven incumbent governors misplaced their bids for the Senate, itself one other first in Nigerian elections.
“As well as, the hole between the successful and runner-up candidates in our presidential elections has decreased significantly since 2011, a key metric of high quality and integrity, given our dwindling voter turnout.”
In his evaluation of the successes recorded underneath Yakubu’s management of the fee, he stated: “Whereas the hole between Presidents Obasanjo and Buhari in 2003, and Yar’adua and Buhari in 2007 was above 12 million and 18 million votes respectively, the hole between Buhari and Jonathan in 2015, and Buhari and Atiku in 2019 was simply over three million votes in every case. In 2023, the hole between Tinubu and Atiku tightened to lower than 2 million votes, indicating the rising impossibility of ‘vote padding’ in our presidential elections, not less than.”
Lauding the enter and influence of the present INEC chairman, Suleiman famous that the Labour Get together and the NNPP have been round as political events in Nigeria since 2002, greater than 20 years earlier than the 2023 common election.
“But, they languished in relative obscurity and hardly received something. However in 2023, they received two governorships, in addition to dozens of nationwide and state meeting seats.”
In an announcement made on the 2023 common election made obtainable to THISDAY, the group govt director, who can be a newspaper columnist, posited that Prof Yakubu expressed impartiality within the conduct of the 2023 common election. He requested: “Once more, what number of governors misplaced their states for the presidential candidate of their social gathering in the best way during which Governors El-Rufai, Ifeanyi Okowa, Mai Mala Buni, and Babajide Samwo Olu to say simply 4 examples, to the candidates of opposition events within the presidential election? It’s once we look critically on the 2023 election outcomes that we will see clearly how a lot work INEC has achieved underneath Prof. Yakubu.”
In the meantime, from the reform of the electoral authorized framework (ELF), by to the supply of voter outreach and inclusivity programmes, the give attention to election safety, to the deployment of electoral applied sciences and stakeholder engagements designed to construct confidence and belief within the electoral course of, the Fee underneath the management of Prof Yakubu has demonstrated how measured, custom-tailored and forward-looking reforms could be, pushed by lessons-learnt and peer overview processes in the end meant to enhance the conduct of elections and belief within the electoral course of.
Since he held sway, the ebook states that there have been vital milestones which have dramatically impacted the electoral course of. “These embody the introduction of simultaneous accreditation and voting (CAVs); the event and deployment of the INEC Voter Enrolment Machine (IVED) and Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS); and the growth of voter entry to polling models that ended a 25 yr previous jinx remodeling polling models in Nigeria from 119, 974 to 176,846.
“Others embody the promotion and growth of inclusivity measures to individuals with incapacity (PwD), internally displaced individuals (IDPs) and to ladies and youth; the event and deployment of the INEC Outcomes Viewing (IReV) portal and several other different portals to handle the submission of the listing of candidates and brokers from political events, election observers and the media; the deployment of extra know-how to facilitate the coordination, planning, monitoring, early warning and implementation of electoral actions by the EMSC; in addition to the growth of the Fee’s position within the provision of electoral help to Electoral Administration Our bodies (EMBs) throughout the West African Area.
“The Fee may also proceed to maintain the tradition of innovation and share experiences with different Election Administration Our bodies (EMBs) to achieve helpful insights on the benefits recorded,” it said.
Going by his background, which could have given him the present standing within the electoral course of in Nigeria, born in Bauchi State in Might 1962, Prof. Yakubu, in line with the publication, had a formidable tutorial file, acquiring a first-class diploma in Historical past from the College of Sokoto.
A local of Bauchi State, he attended Kobi Major Faculty, and the Authorities Lecturers Faculty, Toro, the place he obtained the Grade II Lecturers’ Certificates in 1980 prime of his class. For his college training, he was admitted into the College of Sokoto (now Usmanu Danfodiyo College) to review Historical past in 1980.
He was a Federal Authorities Advantage Award scholar from 1983 to 1985. On the time of his commencement in 1985, he turned the primary Northern scholar to have a first-class diploma certificates from the division of Historical past. He additionally received the Waziri of Sokoto Prize for the Finest Graduating Scholar.
He served the necessary one-year Nationwide Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as an instructional assistant within the Division of Historical past, College of Jos, from 1985 to 1986. After this, Mahmood enrolled on the College of Cambridge, United Kingdom in 1986 with the Cambridge Commonwealth Belief Scholarship and obtained a Grasp of Philosophy (M.Phil) diploma in Worldwide Relations in 1987.
Mahmood Yakubu went on to review Nigerian Historical past for his Doctorate at Oxford College in 1991, demonstrating good tutorial performances all the best way. Such a scholar he was, that he received the Commonwealth Scholarship from the Affiliation of Commonwealth Universities, along with the Abroad Analysis Scholarship 3 times, and the Beit Fund Analysis Grant. And all of those, earlier than he even clocked 30 years.
Upon his return to Nigeria in 1992, Prof. Yakubu went again to the College of Jos to renew as Lecturer I. He quickly rose to the rank of Senior Lecturer and moved to the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, in 1993. Mahmood attained the rank of Reader in 1995 and Professor in 1998 on the age of 36.
On the NDA in Kaduna, he wore completely different hats. Yakubu was Head of the Division of Historical past from 1994 to 1995, Dean of the College of Arts and Social Sciences and Director of Tutorial Planning from 1998 to 2000, Member of, the Armed Forces Choice Board from 1998 to 2003, Dean of the College of Arts and Social Sciences for a second time from 2002 to 2004, Chairman, Administration Board of the Workers Faculty from 2004 to 2006 and pioneer Dean, Submit Graduate Faculty in from 2004 to 2006.
From 2006 to 2007, he served because the Activity Workforce Chief liable for tertiary training on the Federal Ministry of Schooling and a member of the Presidential Technical Committee for the consolidation of Federal tertiary establishments.
He was appointed by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Aduain 2007 to function the Government Secretary of the Schooling Belief Fund (ETF) (later renamed Tertiary Schooling Belief Fund (TETFUND). Prof. Yakubu initiated the institution of a Nationwide Ebook Improvement Fund, which now helps over 100 journals {of professional} organisations.
In that place, he served as a member of the Federal Authorities group on the Renegotiation of the Federal Authorities Settlement with the Tutorial Workers Union of Universities (ASUU) underneath the Chairmanship of Deacon Gamaliel Onosode.
Along with his achievements as INEC chairman, he unveiled a brand new voting course of for the overall election of 2019 particularly on January 7, 2019, and oversaw the 2019 common elections and the governorship elections in lots of states in Nigeria.
Additionally, in Zamfara and Rivers States, Yakubu stood his floor, refusing the All Progressives Congress (APC) from submitting the listing of their candidates as that they had defied the deadlines as a result of inside social gathering disputes. The APC filed a lawsuit, but it surely was rejected.
As INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu performed the best variety of elections within the historical past of election administration our bodies in Nigeria – two common elections – 2019 and 2023 common elections; 19 end-of-tenure and off-cycle Governorship Elections, over 300 supplementary and bye-elections on the senatorial district, Federal and state constituencies, and three FCT Space Council elections-April 2016, February 2019, and February 2022.
One other main milestone of his administration is INEC’s potential to strengthen electoral administration and administration, particularly by the regularisation of election dates.
Previous to his tenure, common election dates in Nigeria weren’t common. He regularised the dates of Normal Elections and FCT Space Council Elections. The overall election now holds on the third Saturdays in February of the election yr for the Presidential and Nationwide Meeting Elections, and two weeks later for the Governorship and State Meeting Elections. This has made it potential for all stakeholders to plan properly forward of time and guarantee higher coordination and readiness by the Fee.
With this, dates for the following 10 Normal Elections in Nigeria – 2027 – 2063 have already been mounted. For the 2027 common elections – Presidential/NASS – February 20, 2027, Governorship/State Meeting – March 6, 2027; 2031 common elections – Presidential/NASS – February 15, 2031, Governorship/State Meeting – March 1, 2031; 2035 common elections – Presidential/NASS – February 17, 2035, Governorship/State Meeting – March 3, 2035; 2039 common elections – Presidential/NASS – February 19, 2039, Governorship/State Meeting – March 5, 2039; 2043 common elections – Presidential/NASS – February 21, 2043, Governorship/State Meeting – March 7, 2043 and so forth.
Along with these, the Fee underneath the management of Prof. Yakubu launched the Steady Accreditation and Voting System (CAVS) to interchange the cumbersome technique of first finishing accreditation earlier than voting.
“CAVS simplified the voting process and addressed the potential disenfranchisement of voters. For the primary time since 1996, the Fee efficiently expanded voter entry to polling models by creating a further 56,872 new polling models in June 2021.
“The Yakubu’s Fee constructed a extra environment friendly, complete and predictive EMSC dashboard that experiences over 1,000 election monitoring indicators and integrates all of the Fee’s election monitoring instruments comprising the Election Administration System (EMS), the Election Operation Assist Centre (EOSC) , the Electoral Threat Administration Software (ERM) and the INEC Safety Alert and Notification System,” the ebook indicated.
For his efforts, he obtained an honorary fellowship from the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations in 2013. He’s additionally a Fellow of the Historic Society of Nigeria and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations. Mahmood Yakubu holds a Physician of Legal guidelines (HonorisCausa) from the UsmanuDanfodiyo College, Sokoto, in addition to a Physician of Letters (HonorisCausa) from the Ebonyi State College, Abakaliki and Ambrose Alli College, Ekpoma
In an interview, a former INEC Director of Voter Schooling and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze Uzzi, lauded Prof. Yakubu for persevering with with the trajectory of the previous INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega.
He, nevertheless, famous that for some observers, the perceived skirmishes that trailed elections in Kogi, Edo States and others should be critically addressed sooner or later, saying: “So, what we had on Prof Jega’s legacy is but to be seen.”
Going ahead, Uzzi suggested on the necessity to return to the drafting board and press the reset button, saying: “The fee must begin off with rebuilding confidence within the electoral course of. There’s lots of people who don’t believe, stakeholders don’t have a lot confidence within the electoral course of.
“However we’ve had section of reforms after each main electoral exercise throughout elections. There are proposals of reforms. There are numerous reforms going earlier than the Nationwide Meeting now, however individuals are getting a bit bored with listening to reforms.
“Some have talked on reforms in regards to the appointment course of, and that the president shouldn’t be concerned within the appointment course of, however in my very own opinion, they haven’t given me vital workable, sustainable alternate options that may make the method clear, that may make the method of politician.
“You don’t take away the facility of president and put it within the Nationwide Meeting. How do you take away the appointment from partisan political curiosity? A very powerful factor is to extend the arrogance of the citizens and stakeholders within the election administration.”
On his half, the Government Director, Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, who warned that the credibility of Nigeria’s 2027 common elections could rely closely on who succeeds Prof Yakubu, stated the way forward for the nation’s elections might collapse if appointments to INEC stay politicised.
He hinged on the necessity for a two-stage appointment course of during which residents take part earlier than nominees bear open Senate screenings. Such reforms, he argued, wouldn’t solely improve transparency but additionally protect INEC from seize by political elites.
At a roundtable convened in Abuja by Yiaga Africa, with assist from the European Union, the place civil society leaders, teachers, and former electoral commissioners had been introduced collectively, the Nation Director of the MacArthur Basis, Dr. Kole Shettima, warned that the approaching exit of skilled INEC officers might erode institutional reminiscence and undermine the Fee’s stability.
“Throughout the 2023 elections, fragmented voices weakened our collective affect. For 2027, civil society should work collectively by joint press briefings, consolidated experiences, and smarter use of scarce assets,” he suggested.
Additionally, former INEC Nationwide Commissioner, Festus Okoye, additional underpinned the constitutional loopholes that go away appointments weak to manipulation. For example, the regulation requires the INEC Chairman and Nationwide Commissioners to be non-partisan, whereas the requirement for Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) is merely that they shouldn’t be card-carrying members of a political social gathering.
This, Okoye argued, creates interpretational challenges in assessing eligibility, including: “This inconsistency makes the eligibility standards too weak.”
