INEC and Nigerian Elections: X-raying Yakubu’s 10 years at the helm
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who is due to leave office in November, is the longest-serving Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria’s main election management body. In this analysis, Philip Shimnom Clement x-rays his 10 years at the helm of INEC, chronicling key advancements in Nigerian election management during his tenure as well as […]
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who is due to leave office in November, is the longest-serving Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria’s main election management body. In this analysis, Philip Shimnom Clement x-rays his 10 years at the helm of INEC, chronicling key advancements in Nigerian election management during his tenure as well as persistent challenges.
Elections are the hallmark of a democracy. In Nigeria, since the return of democracy, the conduct of transparent and credible elections has been on the front burner of political discourse because periodic and credible elections are critical for enhancing the legitimacy of a government and strengthening the social contract between the government and the people.
Weekend Trust reports that successive general elections in 1999, 2003, and 2007 did not meet the expectations of Nigerians, as the elections were criticised for violence and many irregularities like over-voting, ballot snatching, use of underage voters, and the inability of the election umpire to deploy real-time technology during elections, among others.
For instance, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who won the 2007 presidential election, admitted that the election that produced him as president “had shortcomings” and promised electoral reforms to correct the system. The elections were widely criticised by local and foreign observers as flawed.
While the challenges in Nigerian elections have not been completely eroded, stakeholders believe that since 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023, with improvement in terms of quality and integrity due to the progressive reforms in election laws, processes and technology first by Professor Attahiru Jega, and more expansively by the outgoing Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.
Checks by Weekend Trust show that, as the longest serving INEC chairman, Yakubu has supervised the highest number of elections in Nigeria than any other election boss in the history of INEC.
Since his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015, Yakubu has led and supervised two general elections for president, the majority of governors, and national and state assembly legislators in 2019 and 2023. Also, between 2015 and 2024, Yakubu superintended over 15 gubernatorial off-cycle elections across eight states in Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo, and Osun states.
In addition, Yakubu led three sets of FCT area council elections in 2016, 2019, and 2022, and a host of bye-elections for national and state assembly legislators, the latest of which was held on 16th August 2025.
In total, Yakubu has overseen more than 24 major election days, from those involving the rest of the country to those specific to one or two states (the off-cycle) or only the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Further checks by Weekend Trust show that Prof Yakubu has now supervised 242 elections with two presidents elected into office: late President Muhammadu Buhari and the incumbent, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Also, 57 governors were elected during his tenure; 29 in 2019 and 28 in 2023, just as 938 federal lawmakers were elected during his time and 1,984 state lawmakers, with 991 in 2019 and 993 in 2023.
In the same vein, 18 area council chairmen and 186 councillors have emerged in the FCT during Yakubu’s tenure. Altogether, some 3,362 Nigerians have been elected to various offices, from the presidency to FCT councillor, during his tenure.
Similarly, a total of 15 political parties won at least one election during the past 10 years at the federal or state level elections. These parties include Accord Party, Action Alliance (AA), Action Democratic Party (ADP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and the All-Progressives Congress (APC).
Others include the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Labour Party (LP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Reforms by Yakubu
The 10-year two-term of Mahmood Yakubu has seen several improvements in the way and manner elections are conducted in Nigeria across the board. These improvements range from structural and administrative reforms within INEC, the assertion of its independence as an umpire, and the deployment of election technology across many aspects of the electoral process. Others include the expansion of polling units and election day processes, and ultimately the outcomes of the elections, as these affect candidates and parties across the entire political spectrum.
One of Prof Yakubu’s most remarkable feats was strengthening INEC’s autonomy and professionalism as the commission made concerted efforts to assert operational independence through the Electoral Act 2022.
From voter registration to uploading of results on a new portal in real time, INEC’s increasing deployment of technology has been intended to make the electoral process less dependent on politicians and political parties or their agents, and to curb fraud every step of the way.
The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) replaced the controversial Smart Card Readers, allowing secure voter authentication using both fingerprint and facial recognition. Though technical limitations remained, especially in areas with poor connectivity and insufficient staff training, the introduction of BVAS marked a significant advance in the country’s electoral journey.
Another breakthrough was the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV), designed to upload polling unit results in real-time.
Experts speak
The Executive Director at the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), who also doubles as the chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said Prof Yakubu will be remembered for introducing some innovations targeted at boosting election credibility, such as technology and the enabling electoral law.
Similarly, a public affairs analyst, Jide Ojo, noted that Prof Yakubu had reformed INEC to a reasonable extent, being the first chairman to spend two terms.
Ojo added that despite the positives, there are still loopholes that Prof. Yakubu couldn’t cover, noting that it is important that the Commission looks into it to promote efficiency.
Shortcomings
On the loopholes and what can be done, Jide Ojo noted Prof Yakubu had been unable to perfect logistics challenges, which often resulted in delays in the timing of elections, adding that there should be more collaborations with transport operators, noting that the commission has about 20,000 staff covering over 176,000 polling units.
According to him, the biggest challenge in election administration in Nigeria is the lack of trust, as people keep accusing INEC of not conducting credible elections while ignoring the political class, who are the main culprits that disrupt Nigeria’s electoral system.
Also, Auwal Rafsanjani noted that some of these shortcomings of Prof. Yakubu were the lack of proper management of the technology introduced by the INEC chairman and also logistics encumbrances
“Also, in terms of logistics, I believe much can be done to get electoral materials to the polling units in time,” Rafsanjani explained.
“I am saying this because during the build-up to the 2023 general elections, INEC has assured Nigerians of its readiness and how the election will be a game-changer in our history, but with what happened, IREV experiencing glitches, many people were disappointed and lost hope in the electoral umpire,” he said.
About Prof Mahmood Yakubu
Prof Mahmood Yakubu was born in May 1962 in the city of Bauchi, Bauchi State.
He attended Teachers’ College in Toro, Bauchi State, between 1975 and 1980. In 1980, he got his Grade II Teachers’ Certificate and was the best student in his class.
From 1980 to 1985, he got his bachelor’s degree from the University of Sokoto, which is now called Usmanu Danfodiyo University. From 1983 to 1985, he was a federal government merit award scholar.
He got a first-class honours degree in history in 1985 and won the Waziri of Sokoto prize for the best graduating student, and set a record as the first student from Northern Nigeria to get a first-class in history.