He assumed office for a second term of a five-year tenure in December 2020, which was the peak of the Covid pandemic experience; therefore, his tenure ends on the anniversary of his assumption. If he were to proceed on the usual public official retirement leave of three months or thereabouts before the end of his tenure, that should be around September 2025. We have yet to ascertain where and how the rumours of his leaving office surfaced on social media.

It is highly improbable that Tinubu would dismiss Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the umpire who oversaw his election and bravely declared him president despite unclear thresholds. The technological glitch that prevented the IReV from displaying the presidential election results until the very end continues to be the biggest blemish on his reputation as INEC’s boss. The build-up to the election was fantastic, and Prof. Yakubu had won the trust and confidence of Nigerians who believed he was going to be a fair umpire. However, a glitch occurred.

Pundits with a thorough understanding of Nigerian politics have suggested that the message was to take a bold stance and explore the possibility of replacing Professor Mahmood Yakubu with someone from the southwest geopolitical zone. The Tinubu administration intends to appoint an INEC boss from the southwest geopolitical zone because, in recent history, no person from that zone has ever held that position. As a government which prides itself on putting the best individuals forward for the job irrespective of tribe or religious belief, it is believed that the government was testing public reactions to such an appointment. However, underrating the government poses a significant risk. Never say never with Tinubu.  

It is doubtful that the Tinubu government or the APC, as the party in power that has done very well under Prof. Yakubu, would want to repay him with evil by disgracing him out of office. If anything, he deserves some compensation from the government for helping the party retain power at the centre, many would argue. Under him, the party has gained control of additional states like Edo in off-cycle elections and has won others like Ondo convincingly. The Anambra governorship election in early November may likely be his last assignment as INEC Chairman.

The Rumour of His Removal
President Tinubu has replaced INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu with Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan,” the message stated. The message quickly spread and raised many eyebrows. At first, there was no indication of a potential change of leadership from the INEC headquarters. Prof. Yakubu is rounding off his second tenure in office and is expected to exit towards the end of the year.

 The Presidency Reacted Sharply
The presidency quickly debunked the widespread report claiming that President Tinubu had sacked Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman. The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Digital and New Media, O’tega Ogra, described the news as false.

The Nigerian public should disregard any fake news making the rounds about the replacement of the INEC Chairman. “Any such announcement will come from the SGF’s office or any other appropriate official source,” Ogra wrote.

INEC Spokesperson Reacts

Shortly after, the special adviser to the INEC chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, sent word that the information on the removal of INEC was false and should be disregarded.

How Are the INEC Chairman and Commissioners Selected?

The procedure of selecting an INEC chairman starts with the president nominating a candidate and forwarding his particulars to the Department of State Services (DSS) for profiling.

After such screening, the president sends the names to the National Council of State for an advisory review. The President forwards the name to the Senate for verification and screening based on the results.

The screening goes through the committee on INEC before a report is presented to the Senate for approval or rejection. The president then swears in the candidate. There was a gap of about one month between the expiration of Prof Yakubu’s first term in office and his reappointment for another term of five years.

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