Yiaga Africa: Mahmood Yakubu Created and Left a Weak, Politicised Electoral Body

•HURIWA advises Tinubu against politicising INEC appointments 

•Commission extends ward CVR in FCT

Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

A civic society group, Yiaga Africa, has declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the immediate past Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, was too weak and politicised.

Yiaga Africa added that Yakubu’s exit marked a critical moment for Nigeria, as the President Bola Tinubu prepares to appoint a new chairman for the electoral commission.

On the contrary, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has commended Yakubu, for his decade-long tenure which it described as transformative and institutionally progressive.

Meanwhile, INEC has announced the extension of the ward level Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

However, Yiaga Africa, which was inclined to electoral issues, stressed that what INEC needed at this critical time were leaders with impeccable character who could resist political pressure, adding that the future of credible elections depended on it.

Yiaga Africa emphasised that the decline was in spite of the reforms introduced under the leadership of Yakubu.

The group said the Commission failed to assert its independence as it ought to be and therefore missed opportunities to protect the integrity of the process.

Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Mr. Samson Itodo, who stated these while speaking on Channels Television day, said political interference and loss of public trust have overshadowed most of the achievements of the commission under Yakubu.

Itodo noted that the 10-year tenure of Prof. Yakubu was a mixed bag of the good and the ugly with the later overshadowing the former owing to so much interference which the leadership of the commission succumbed to.

“INEC today is weak because of political interference and trust in the system is at its lowest ebb since the 2023 elections.

“The many controversies around the voters’ register, failure to sanction compromised officials, and the commission’s inconsistent application of its guidelines are clear evidence of declining institutional credibility.

“Nigerians no longer believe their votes will count, and that is a dangerous place for our democracy,” he stressed.

HURIWA Advises Tinubu Against Politicising INEC Appointment, Hails Yakubu

HURIWA has commended Yakubu, for his decade-long tenure which it described as transformative and institutionally progressive.

The association, however, warned President Bola Tinubu against the alleged plot to appoint a partisan loyalist as Yakubu’s successor, cautioning that such a move would threaten the fragile gains made in Nigeria’s electoral system and compromise the 2027 general elections.

In a statement yesterday by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA said under Yakubu’s leadership, INEC underwent significant modernisation that strengthened its operational integrity and public transparency.

The association cited the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV) as two landmark innovations that redefined Nigeria’s electoral process by reducing human interference, curbing manipulation, and allowing citizens to independently verify results from polling units across the country.

“Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s tenure marked a major leap in institutional and technological reform at INEC. He inherited an electoral system struggling for credibility and transformed it into one where verification, not speculation, became the benchmark of electoral integrity,” he said.

However, he warned that, “It would be disastrous for Nigeria’s democracy if President Tinubu appoints a stooge whose primary assignment is to manipulate the electoral process in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

“Such a move would not only destroy the institutional gains made under Yakubu’s stewardship but also plunge the nation into renewed political instability, electoral distrust, and international disrepute,” he said.

INEC Extends Ward CVR Exercise in FCT

INEC has announced the extension of the ward-level Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Director, Voter Education and Publicity Department, Victoria Eta-Messi, in a statement, said the exercise has been extended by four days.

She said the decision was taken at the commission’s Third Quarterly meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) held on Tuesday.

“Following the review, the Commission approved a four-day extension of the ongoing Ward-level CVR exercise in the FCT. Consequently, the exercise which was earlier scheduled to end today, Wednesday, 8th October 2025, will now continue until Sunday, 12th October 2025.

“As of 7th October 2025, a total of 55,346 new voter registrations had been recorded in the FCT, comprising 38,528 online pre-registrations and 16,818 completed physical registrations.

 “This impressive turnout underscores the growing civic awareness among residents and the effectiveness of devolving the exercise to the grassroots.”