By Ayo Kehinde
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has given President Bola Tinubu seven days to disclose details of the selection and appointment process for the successor to Professor Mahmood Yakubu, whose tenure as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission ends in November 2025.
In a letter dated September 27, 2025, and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said the appointment of Yakubu’s replacement “cannot and should not be a closed shop.” It urged the president to ensure that the process is transparent, open, and accountable.
“There is a strong correlation between transparency in the selection and appointment process of INEC chairman and the ability of the commission to perform its constitutional and statutory duties in an independent and impartial manner,” SERAP noted.
The organisation asked the president to disclose the number and names of candidates under consideration and whether the Council of State has been or would be consulted, as required by the constitution.
It also called on Tinubu to reconsider the appointment of at least three alleged members of the All Progressives Congress earlier confirmed as Resident Electoral Commissioners and replace them with non-partisan nominees.
SERAP warned that if the president fails to act within seven days of receiving the letter, it would take legal steps to compel compliance.
The group stressed that openness in the process would build public confidence in the independence of INEC, improve citizens’ participation, and reduce perceptions of bias, especially after controversies surrounding the 2023 general elections.
Quoting relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022, SERAP argued that secrecy in the process would undermine INEC’s independence, compromise electoral integrity, and erode citizens’ right to free and fair elections.
“The credibility and legitimacy of elections depend mostly on the independence and impartiality of those appointed to manage the process. Without an independent INEC, the democratic rights of Nigerians would remain illusory,” it said.
Yakubu, who was first appointed in 2015, will complete his second five-year tenure in November 2025.
His successor is expected to assume office immediately, subject to Senate confirmation.
