The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has officially bowed out of office after completing his second term.
Yakubu, who was first appointed in 2015 and reappointed in 2020, served two full five-year terms as head of the nation’s electoral body.
At a brief handover ceremony held on Tuesday at the INEC headquarters in Abuja, Yakubu handed over leadership to May Agbamuche-Mbu, a National Commissioner of the commission, who will serve as Acting Chairman pending the appointment of a substantive replacement.
Professor Yakubu’s tenure oversaw two general elections — in 2019 and 2023 — as well as several off-cycle polls, during which the commission introduced major electoral reforms, including the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
His exit marks the end of a decade-long leadership that shaped Nigeria’s electoral landscape amid challenges of logistics, security, and political pressure.
The Presidency is expected to announce a new substantive chairman in the coming weeks, subject to confirmation by the National Assembly.
