Mahmood Yakubu: Task before new INEC Chairman

News analysis

By Willy Eya

YESTERDAY, the Council of State meeting took a critical de­cision that would have a major influence on the polity in the next five years. The decision was the approval of the nomination of a new Chairman for the Indepen­dent national Electoral Commis­sion (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

The council also approved the appointment of five National INEC commissioners, includ­ing Amina Zakari (North-West), Anthonia Okosi-Simbine (North Central), Alhaji Shettima (North- East), Dr. Mohammed Mustapha (South-South) and Mr. Soyebi Solomon (South West). Mr. Law­rence Nwuruku is retained for the South-East zone.

To many, the appointment of Yakubu, which was confirmed by President Muhammadu Buhari at an emergency meeting in Abuja, was one huge decision that came as a surprise to critical observers. As many would agree, the name of the Bauchi-born Professor of Political History and International Studies was never associated with the electoral body until his con­ormation yesterday by the Presi­dent. Characteristic of President Buhari’s administration, many were taken unaware by the an­nouncement of the First Class graduate of History as the new electoral umpire.

Briefing State House cor­respondents after the meeting, Sokoko State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, said the appointment of the new INEC boss was in line with relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution and done in consultation with the Council of State. So, it is stating the obvi­ous that in the next five years, Prof Yakubu would superintend over INEC, which is arguably the hot­test seat in the country.

Then the big question: Can Prof Yakubu, the new electoral umpire, deliver on the mandate which his important and sensitive office de­mands?

Many would argue that based on hindsight, it is impossible to predict whether the tenure of the professor would form part of the nation’s positive history when he leaves office. The reason for this is that virtually all previous occu­pants of the hot seat left it not only humbled by pressure but also had their hard-earned integrity bruised and battered.

So, as Yakubu becomes the new kid helmsman, nothing short of the best is expected from him as all eyes would be on INEC starting with the Kogi and Bayel­sa governorship elections, which come up on November 21 and December 5 respectively.

Many agree that the outcome of the last general elections has imbued in the people, a new con­sciousness with regards to free and fair elections in the country. So, as he mounts the saddle, not a few would be watching out for his commitment to a free and fair exercise.

In the estimation of critical observers, the INEC boss must be seen not to be partisan in his activities so as to remain an un­biased umpire capable of deliver­ing a free and fair election in the country.

As the don takes up this onerous responsibility, many are waiting to see how he can raise the people’s confidence in the nation’s che­quered electoral process. There is no gainsaying that in virtually all the elections conducted in Nige­ria since independence, the apex electoral body had always been perceived to have failed to meet the expectations of the voters in terms of free and fair exercise.

One major issue the INEC boss would also contend with is de­lineation of electoral units in the country. It was a major headache to his predecessor, Prof Attahiru Jega, who was literally lynched in the media for daring to favour the North against the South in his de­lineation of electoral units in the country.

Prof Yakubu also has to work hard to ensure that his tenure is not given any ethnic colouration considering that President Buhari, who appointed him is from the North also.

Even though Yakubu is from Bauchi in the North East zone and President Buhari from North West, it is believed that both, be­ing from the North, share a lot of interests. But many insist that the good thing is that despite the chal­lenges of his new office, nobody would ask, who is Prof Mahmud Yakubu.

The don used to be the Execu­tive Secretary of the Tertiary Edu­cation Trust Fund (TETFUND), an office he was appointed into by late President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2007.

It is also of note that he was the first academic to ever head the intervention agency and was the Assistant Secretary of Finance and Administration at Nigeria’s National Conference Secretariat in 2014.

Many may be surprised to know that he is an expert in Guer­rilla warfare, terrorism and coun­ter terrorism.

Yakubu was a lecturer at the Nigerian Defence Academy and taught War and Society in Pre-Co­lonial Africa. He was also a mem­ber of the Oby Ezekwesili Educa­tional Transformation Team.

Before his appointment, the of­fice of the INEC boss manned by Mrs. Amina Zakari, who is now the national chairman for North West, President Buhari’s geopo­litical zone was mired in contro­versy.

Mrs. Zakari was said to have a strong relationship with President Buhari and a very prominent APC North West governor who was said to be collaborating with the ruling party (APC) to post Resi­dent Electoral Commissioners of its choice to Kogi and Bayelsa ahead of the forthcoming gover­norship elections in their states.

Many had also argued that the continued stay of Amina Zakari as the acting Chair of INEC re­mained unconstitutional as her appointment as a National Com­missioner elapsed on Wednesday, July 22, 2015.

The contention was that it was by virtue of her appointment as a National Commissioner that she was appointed to act as the INEC Chairman and that with the elaps­ing of her office, she ceased to be a member of the Commission.

Many insisted that those were the things that the former Chair­man, Prof. Jega took into consid­eration when he handed over to Mohammed Wali whose tenure elapsed in August to give the new administration time to settle down and make fresh appointments of Commissioners and the Chair­man, as most of them would have finished their tenures.

A few hours after Professor Jega bowed out as Chairman of INEC, President Buhari appoint­ed Zakari as the Acting Chairman of the electoral body. Her appoint­ment then was made public by the recently retired Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi, through a statement by the Director of Communications, Of­fice of the HoS, Haruna Imrana.

In the terse statement, Buhari said Zakari’s appointment was with immediate effect from June 30, 2015 until the appointment of a substantive chairman for the Commission.

Until her appointment as Acting Chairman, Zakari was a National Electoral Commissioner at INEC.

Earlier, Prof Jega had handed over to Wali, a national commis­sioner following the expiration of his tenure.

Wali hails from Sokoto State and at the time Jega handed over to him, his five-year tenure was to expired on August 11, 2015.

Jega was appointed chairman of the INEC by the immediate past, President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, on June 30, 2010.

The former chairman super­vised the conduct of the 2011 and 2015 general elections.