Ex-INEC Chairman Yakubu’s Tenure Was High-Handed and Elitist — Ameh Alleges

A former national officer of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Geoffrey Ameh, has accused the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, of running the commission with high-handedness, elitism, and disregard for opposition parties.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, Ameh alleged that Yakubu’s 10-year leadership was marked by corruption, mismanagement, and actions that eroded public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral system.

“Under Professor Mahmood’s tenure, the opposition suffered. He was not accommodating when it came to opposition or multi-party democracy; all he wanted was to crush it. The high-handedness was much,” Ameh said.

He claimed that the former INEC chairman failed to build institutional capacity within the commission and instead created an elitist environment detached from the commission’s core mandate.

“Mahmood spent 10 years at the commission. What you see now is an elitist escort to protect him from the anger within the commission. There wasn’t any effort to lift the spirit of the staff,” he stated.

Ameh further accused Yakubu of mishandling Nigeria’s electoral process and undermining its legitimacy, citing the 2023 general elections and Edo State governorship election as examples of alleged irregularities.

“When you talk about INEC, its primary duty is to conduct elections. During Mahmood’s tenure, there was corruption and mismanagement. Legitimacy was bastardized,” he said. “The conduct of the 2023 general elections is a bitter taste in everybody’s mouth; that is what he will be remembered for.”

He also faulted Yakubu for failing to take responsibility following the technical glitches that marred the electronic transmission of results in the 2023 polls.

“He made promises that the results would be transmitted, but he failed. Maybe there was a glitch, but he should have set up an independent body to investigate what went wrong,” Ameh noted.

Concluding, Ameh claimed that Yakubu’s actions weakened Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.

“For me, Mahmood’s tenure damaged the multi-party democracy we have. He pushed and invested so much energy in Section 225A to undermine political parties. He turned the essence of our democratic system into a laughing stock,” he said.

Yakubu officially handed over to May Agbamuche-Mbu, the commission’s oldest serving National Commissioner, who now serves as Acting Chairman pending the appointment of a substantive replacement.