As the tenure of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, ends next month, the question of who will replace him is increasingly becoming of interest to Nigerians, Weekend Trust reports.

Yakubu was first appointed as the electoral body’s chairman in 2015 and reappointed for another term in 2020, giving him the record of the longest-serving INEC chairman in Nigeria’s history.

Section 154 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that “the appointment of the chairman and members of the Independent National Electoral Commission shall be made by the president and shall be subject to confirmation by the Senate.”

Paragraph 14 of Part I of the Third Schedule further stipulates that the appointee must be a person “of unquestionable integrity” and not less than 50 years of age.

Although President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is said to be keeping his choice close to his chest, sources said he was advised to review and reconsider options thereby increasing the number of those to be screened for the position.

According to sources, the president initially preferred a particular candidate from the South West before several factors came into play that left the Presidency with no choice but to include others from other geo-political zones.

Weekend Trust learnt that the issue of the zone the next INEC chairman would come from became sensitive, given the allegations that many appointments by the president had favoured the South West, where he hails from.

Probable nominees

Those being considered for the chairmanship of INEC, according to sources, include Justice Abdullahi Mohammed Liman of the Court of Appeal; a retired professor at the University of Lagos and former INEC’s National Commissioner, Lai Olurode; a former director of procurement of INEC, Kenneth Ukeagu, the current INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun, and Professor Bashiru Olamilekan.

Three of those being touted for the job are from the South West and one each from the South East and North Central.

Since the establishment of a uniform electoral body for the country, only the South West and the North Central have not produced INEC chairman.

Abdullahi Mohammed Liman

Justice Abdullahi Mohammed Liman was born on February 11, 1959 and became a lawyer in 1984.

He is currently a serving Justice of the Court of Appeal. Though there has been no official confirmation, his name has been repeatedly mentioned in discussions about potential replacements.

He hails from Nasarawa State where he started his law practice before moving to Abuja, from where he was appointed a judge at the age of 42 on the 27th of July, 2000.

Justice Liman has been associated with a number of high-profile and controversial cases. Daily Trust had in 2024 chronicled at least seven such cases, including his ruling that temporarily restrained the reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano, and his order halting the suspension and arrest moves against former Kano governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

Bashiru Olamilekan

Early in the year, it was speculated that Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan was appointed to replace Prof. Mahmood Yakubu but the turned out not to be true. He is believed to be one of those earlier considered for the job.

Sam Olumekun

Sam Olumekun is a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and serves as chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee. A public administrator from Ondo State, Olumekun has held several key positions in both the civil service and the electoral body.

He was Permanent Secretary, Government House and Protocol in Ondo State before moving to the INEC where he served as Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Edo State from 2014 to 2017 and later in Lagos State from 2017 until the end of his tenure in 2020.

In these roles, he supervised election management and electoral processes in these areas.

Lai Olurode

Professor Lai Olurode, born on November 2, 1952 in Iwo, Osun State, is a sociologist, academic and public intellectual. A 1979 first-class graduate of Sociology from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Lagos State, where also obtained his Master’s degree in Sociology, Olurode later bagged a doctorate degree at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom, in 1984. He also studied Law at the UNILAG where he obtained LL.B in 1990. He was called to the Bar in 1991.

Olurode, who joined the UNILAG in 1980, rose through the ranks to become a professor of Sociology in 2000. He served as Head of Department and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Olurode was appointed by as National Commissioner of the INEC on June 30, 2010, overseeing Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti states.

His research interests span political sociology, gender, inequality, and democratization in Africa. He has authored numerous books and articles, presented globally, and is a respected public commentator on governance and social change.

After over 40 years of teaching, Olurode retired from the UNILAG, delivering a valedictory lecture titled Knowledge Sector, Public Interest and Power Structure’ in 2023.

Kenneth Ukeagu

In his 50s, Kenneth Ukeagu is a former director of procurement at the INEC.

A sociologist, he hails from from Abia state and has worked for over three decades at the INEC.

He was appointed national commissioner by President Muhammadu Buhari in what is described as the first that a serving or even retired staff of the Commission will be so appointed.

While no law bars the president from appointing an INEC chairman from his zone, sources said the Presidency may consider someone outside of the South West for the position to ward off allegations of tribalism.

“You know this (INEC chairmanship) is a sensitive position because it has to do with an election that the president would be participating in. He is required to be seen as neutral and anything that would portray him as having undue advantage would be frowned at.

“So, if he goes ahead and brings someone from his zone, it would heighten suspicion and give the opposition the chance to accuse the electoral body of bias or favouritism,” one of the sources stated.

Weekend Trust notes that since the First Republic, no sitting president has appointed someone from his geopolitical zone as INEC chairman; except for the brief period Amina Bala Zakari from Jigawa State, during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, acted as chairman when Professor Attahiru Jega resigned and before Professor Yakubu was appointed.

A breakdown of past INEC chairmanship appointments showed that the administrations of Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa had Eyo Ita Isua (South-South); former President Shehu Shagari, Michael Ani (South-East) and Victor Ovie Whisky (South-South); former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ephraim Akpata (South-South); Abel Guobadia (South-South) and Maurice Iwu (South East)

Former President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Professor Attahiru Jega (North West); while Buhari appointed Professor Mahmood Yakubu (North East).

If Tinubu appoints someone from the South West, it would be the first time that a substantive INEC chairman would come from the president’s geopolitical zone.

Meanwhile, some opposition elements have started raising concerns over who will be the next INEC chairman. For instance, a chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Alhaji Buba Galadima, in a recent interview, warned that Nigeria could face civil unrest if the federal government appoints a certain Court of Appeal judge as INEC chairman.

A political activist, Timi Frank, has also cautioned that only a person of proven integrity should be considered for the position.

Justice Liman, one of those being touted for the position, has been associated with a number of high-profile cases, including his ruling that temporarily restrained the reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano and his order halting the suspension and arrest moves against former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje.

Some people have also argued that allowing the president to continue appointing INEC chairmen undermines public confidence in the commission. According to them, for Nigeria to achieve truly free and fair elections, reforms are necessary to insulate the INEC from executive influence.

Analysts weigh in

Beyond zoning and professional background, analysts, who spoke to Weekend Trust, said priority should be on ensuring credibility, neutrality and independence of Nigeria’s electoral umpire.

A political analyst, Prof. Kamilu Sani Fage, said the position of INEC chairman is expected to be politically neutral.

He alleged that lobbying and political interests were already shaping the search.

“The position of INEC chairman is similar to that of a judge who is supposed to be politically neutral, nonpartisan. In fact, that is what our electoral laws state; that not even the chairman, but even members like resident commissioners, are supposed to be nonpartisan,” he said.

Fage noted that sectional and religious considerations will also come to the fore in the search for Yakubu’s successor.

“We are going to see another problem; that is the issue of sectionalism, whether he is going to come from the North or from the South. That will dominate the debate about where the person is supposed to come from. And also, the issue of religion will come out. These are some of the things that are going to surely feature prominently in the search for the next INEC chairman,” he said.

Fage stressed that the appointment remains a prerogative of the president, especially as politicians are already focused on the 2027 general elections.

The national president of the Nigeria Political Science Association, Professor Hassan Saliu, said Nigerians should not expect a miracle.

He said, “Given the political environment, the new man can only try and we should not expect any miracle from him. We cannot be electing something on nothing.” (Daily Trust, excluding headline)