When Professor Mahmood Yakubu strides out of the glass doors of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja for the last time as chairman, he leaves behind one of the most complex legacies in Nigeria’s democratic history.
Depending on who is asked, Yakubu is either the patient reformer who modernised Nigeria’s electoral process or the man who presided over its worst credibility crisis in a decade.
Now passing the baton to national commissioner, May Agbamuche-Mbu, who will serve in acting capacity, Yakubu’s exit marks the end of an era that was as ambitious as it was turbulent, a tenure defined by innovation, controversy, resilience, and, ultimately, public disillusionment.
The Promise of Reform
When Mahmood Yakubu, a historian and academic, was appointed in 2015 by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, expectations were cautiously optimistic.
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He succeeded Professor Attahiru Jega, whose introduction of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and the Smart Card Reader had earned broad praise.
Yakubu inherited both the achievements and burdens of that transition. INEC was struggling with logistical nightmares, voter apathy, legal battles, and credibility concerns. Yet, he seemed ready.
His academic calm and reputation as a technocrat suggested he would consolidate the gains of electoral digitization and lead Nigeria into a new era of transparent polling.
Under his leadership,
INEC
embarked on what it dubbed the “deepening of electoral technology.” The introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) were seen as game-changers.
For the first time, results from polling units would be uploaded in real-time, a radical improvement meant to end the age of “magical results” and “post-midnight arithmetic.”
The 2020 Edo and Ondo governorship elections and several by-elections signaled promise. BVAS performed relatively well; observers commended INEC’s transparency.
In those moments, Yakubu stood tall. He told Nigerians, “Never again will our elections be the same.” The applause was genuine.
The Fractures Beneath the Surface
But as often with Nigerian elections, the cracks appeared soon after the confidence.
The 2023 general elections were a defining moment and for many Nigerians, the undoing of Yakubu’s credibility.
The buildup had been promising: an expanded voter register after nationwide continuous registration, heavy investment in technology, and unprecedented youth engagement driven by a new political awakening.
Yakubu presented INEC as ready. “We have provided Nigerians with the best possible platform for free and fair elections,” he declared on the eve of the polls.
But by the afternoon of voting day, technology faltered, logistics disintegrated, and disappointment began to poison optimism.
In several parts of the country, the BVAS malfunctioned, IReV failed to transmit results as promised, and ad hoc staff were accused of compromise or incompetence.
The chaos, particularly during the presidential election, ignited anger and suspicion. Civil society groups and party observers accused Yakubu of presiding over “a betrayal of public trust.”
Though INEC defended its position, arguing that the system had been attacked and interfered with, the damage to its credibility was irreversible.
For many citizens, Mahmood Yakubu’s name became synonymous with shattered expectations.
The Good: Institutional Strength and Technological Shift
To his credit, however, Yakubu’s tenure was not without measurable gains. Few have so thoroughly understood and institutionalised election management in Nigeria.
He professionalised INEC’s internal operations, standardising training, logistics, and communications.
Under his watch, electoral materials were produced locally, and collaboration with the security agencies evolved beyond command-based directives to structured inter-agency coordination.
Yakubu also strengthened stakeholder engagement. The commission met regularly with civil society organisations, political parties, and development partners.
The inclusion of persons with disabilities in voting, the gender-conscious recruitment of ad hoc staff, and the publication of election data online became consistent practices.
His bold push for technology-first elections was transformative. Even many of his critics admit that Nigeria’s electoral system would be worse off today without BVAS. It drastically reduced multiple voting, ghost accreditation, and inflated figures in many local contests.
He also navigated logistical challenges that would have crippled many administrators. INEC under his watch conducted over 500 off-cycle and by-elections, surviving an unprecedented wave of attacks on its offices and personnel.
The Bad: Trust Deficit and the Weight of Inconsistency
Yakubu’s biggest flaw was communication, his inability or unwillingness to level with Nigerians when systems failed.
In 2023, when INEC struggled to upload results on the IReV, the chairman offered no real-time explanation. Confusion spread, misinformation festered, and public trust evaporated.
By the time INEC addressed the issue, the damage was done. The perception of manipulation overtook any reasonable defence.
The commission’s inconsistency in enforcing its rules also hurt its image.
In some states, results were declared where BVAS data was incomplete; in others, elections were cancelled. Critics say Yakubu allowed political pressure and judicial confusion to blur INEC’s institutional confidence.
He was accused of “sitting on the fence” rather than confronting power. That perception, whether fair or not, turned one of Nigeria’s most reform-minded elections into one of its most controversial.
The Ugly: Violence, Partisanship, and the Mirage of Reform
Beneath the U-turns in INEC’s credibility were issues far larger than Yakubu himself, money politics, elite manipulation, and endemic violence.
Under his watch, voter intimidation, ethnic profiling, and state-backed coercion became defining scars of the electoral process. From Lagos to Rivers to Kogi, thugs openly disrupted voting, while law enforcement looked away.
Observers accused INEC of complicity through silence. “When citizens risk their lives to vote and you fail to defend their mandate, you lose moral authority,” said one civil society activist after the 2023 polls.
Yakubu’s INEC often focused on procedures while losing the human aspect of democracy, the security of the voter.
For a man of discipline and intellect, his moral detachment during moments of crisis remains a dark mark.
Between Strengths and Weaknesses
Yakubu’s greatest strength was his patience. In an environment where every decision is politicised, he remained calm, structured, and meticulous.
He modernised INEC’s processes, treated the commission’s employees as professionals, and resisted wholesale political capture.
Yet, that patience occasionally became passivity. Yakubu’s reluctance to confront political power with transparency cost both him and the commission credibility. His strategy of quiet reform met the reality of noisy politics, a clash that ultimately defined his tenure.
The Legacy of Mahmood Yakubu
History will judge Professor Yakubu neither as a hero nor a villain but as an administrator caught in the contradictions of Nigeria’s democracy.
He moved the electoral body forward technologically but left it battered emotionally.
To some, he represents continuity: proof that democracy can be managed through evolutionary professionalism rather than revolutionary overhaul.
To others, he symbolizes betrayal, the man who promised “transparency like never before” but failed when it mattered most.
Still, INEC as an institution is stronger than when he met it. It now has a deeper data archive, improved logistics, layered technology, and a generation of staff trained in modern electoral practice.
His successor, although in acting capacity, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, will inherit both the foundation and the baggage of his years.
Her challenge, and his legacy, will be the same: how to make Nigeria’s elections not just efficient, but truly credible.
In the end, Mahmood Yakubu’s story is one of ambition meeting limitation; of a sincere reformer wrestling with a system too fractured to sustain his ideals.
His legacy is a mirror of Nigeria itself, flawed, resilient, and still searching for the democracy it deserves.