The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said that he is still the head of the electoral body and that changes to Nigeria’s electoral laws will be completed before the next general elections in 2027.
Speaking with reporters on Monday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Yakubu addressed speculation about his position and confirmed his continued leadership of the commission. He was at the Villa for the swearing-in of two new INEC National Commissioners by President Bola Tinubu.
“I don’t think we need to waste time so much on this unnecessary speculation. As far as the law is concerned, and as far as I’m aware, I remain the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, and under the Constitution, the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the Federation, and under the Electoral Act, the returning officer for the presidential election,” he said.
Yakubu noted that INEC had reviewed the 2023 general elections and gathered recommendations from key players and observers. According to him, a total of 142 recommendations were made, with eight of them requiring changes to the Nigerian Constitution or the Electoral Act.
He explained that INEC has already met with committees from the National Assembly in charge of electoral reform. The discussions took place in Lagos, where the review process and legislative steps were discussed.
“Thereafter, the National Assembly is going to organise a public hearing, and it’s after the public hearing that a new bill will, at the end of the day, be submitted to the President for assent,” Yakubu said.
He added that INEC is working closely with the lawmakers to make sure the changes are passed in time for the 2027 elections.
“So far so good, we are happy with our discussions with them, and we are also happy with the speed with which they want to proceed so that we’ll have some necessary amendments done to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections,” he noted.
The newly sworn-in commissioners include Mallam Tukur Abdulrazaq Yusuf from the Northwest and Professor Sunday Nwambam Aja from Ebonyi State in the Southeast. With their addition, INEC now has nearly a full set of commissioners again, following the recent passing of Major General Modibbo Alkali (retd), who was also a member of the commission.
President Tinubu also performed the swearing-in of two new officials for the Code of Conduct Bureau: Ikpeme Kenneth Ndem from Cross River State and retired Justice Buba Ibrahim Nyaure from Taraba State.
