As the tenure of Professor Mahmood Yakubu as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) draws to an end, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, has called for the appointment of a credible and constitutionally upright successor.
Yakubu, first appointed in 2015 by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari and reappointed in 2020, will officially end his service on November 9, 2025, after completing his second five-year term.
Speaking on a television program, Baba-Ahmed criticized the outgoing chairman’s handling of the 2023 general elections, accusing him of supervising what he described as electoral irregularities that produced the current president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He remarked: “Throughout human history, individuals make or break societies. All I want is a credible person, not somebody who will clearly rig what the constitution provides: 25% in at least two-thirds of the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, and go ahead to breach the constitution and put Nigeria into what Nigeria is today.”
Baba-Ahmed went further to argue that the country’s political and social crises stem directly from electoral malpractice. He insisted that Nigeria’s insecurity, corruption, and systemic decay are outcomes of fraudulent elections.
“Our leadership recruitment is the bane of our problems. Electoral fraud is the single most important fact to be addressed in our lives as a nation, even beyond insecurity. Insecurity is derived from electoral fraud. The Nigerian election gave birth to the kind of insecurity we have today. Corruption is aggravated by electoral fraud. The destruction of our youths, of the system, is aggravated by electoral fraud,” he asserted.
Political analysts note that the process of choosing Yakubu’s successor will be one of the most crucial decisions for President Tinubu’s administration, given the rising concerns about democratic credibility and national unity.
Frontpagenews.ng reports that debates on the future of INEC leadership are gaining momentum, with stakeholders emphasizing the need for transparency, neutrality, and accountability in the appointment process.
