INEC AND THE MAHMOOD YAKUBU YEARS

In spite of some shortcomings, Yakubu’s INEC symbolises hope

At a brief ceremony during a regular consultative meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja last Tuesday, Mahmood Yakubu handed over to the most senior National Commissioner, May Agbamuche-Mbu, as the commission’s acting chairman. Right on cue, President Bola Tinubu nominated a Professor of Law, Joash Amupitan, SAN, to step into Yakubu’s shoes as chairman of the electoral body, a decision that has been approved by the National Council of State (NCS). All that is left for Amupitan is the stamp of approval from the Senate, which is expected. While Nigerians await the incoming era at INEC, it is important to reflect the one that has just ended.

Appointed in October 2015 by the late President Muhammadu Buhari, and reappointed in 2020, Yakubu has perhaps remained the most consequential chairman of the electoral body since inception. The first chairman from Nigeria’s Northeast zone, he served the maximum two-term tenure of 10 years, a feat in the commission’s history. During the period, along with dozens of national commissioners and RECs, Yakubu presided over the 2019 and 2023 general elections, numerous off-cycle governorship elections, and hundreds of other re-run and bye-elections. “Together, we innovated and managed the commission’s enormous responsibilities,” noted the Professor of Political History and International Studies in self-appraisal, “sometimes on the verge of breaking down.’’

 Expectedly, some critics have dismissed the Yakubu years as adding little to buoying public confidence in the country’s electoral system. Some of what they say is right. Within these years, there were some inexcusable logistical problems – in form of late arrival of ballot boxes to polling booths in some areas, ballot snatching, violence, vote buying and delay in the transmission of election results. The February/March 2019 election was marred by unprecedented violence that claimed no few than 600 lives. A repeat performance of violence took place in the November 2019 Bayelsa and Kogi States gubernatorial election. During the 2023 general election, Yakubu overpromised on the use of technology for the transmission of results but underdelivered at the end of the day.

 But to be fair, these issues must also be contextualised. Elections in Nigeria are more often fought like war. And those defeated in the course of the battle must blame it on something. More importantly, some of the issues are beyond the brief of INEC. In most other climes, politicians don’t procure arms and other instruments of war for elections. Nor is it normal that citizens should lose their lives when performing their civic duties. Election management officials are also not under threat as they are in Nigeria. But there have also been institutionalised positives in recent years. Under Yakubu, ballot papers and result sheets are now produced locally, saving the country some hard-earned foreign exchange. Election dates are firmed and regularised, while the creation of additional polling units has impacted on the ease of the voting population.  

 Mindful of the costly mistakes of the past – where politicians and their sympathisers thumb-printed ballot papers at will, and declared results with impunity, Yakubu’s INEC embraced the use of technology. Even though it has not ended all discrepancies, it has considerably curtailed the disorder in the system. The Electoral Act 2022, championed by Yakubu, gave INEC greater oversight on political party primaries for improved internal democracy, while also putting pressure on those in government to vacate office if they want to contest elections. Besides, the Act prescribes early primaries for political parties to ensure adequate time for campaign, thus providing a more level playing field for opposition parties.

Meanwhile, the deployment of technology for voter registration, voter accreditation, voting at an election and the transmission of results has added tremendous credibility to the electoral process. These include the registration and authentication of eligible voters using the INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) for both fingerprint and facial recognition, use of the INEC Biometric Voter Accreditation Device (BVAS) for voter accreditation and the uploading of scanned copies of the polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal for public view. To be sure, some of the reforms initiated by Yakubu have not always delivered expected outcomes. But they represent significant progress which should be sustained. 

 Now that the Yakubu era has ended, it is left for the incoming chairman of INEC to improve on his records.