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The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has asked the Senate to reject President Bola Tinubu’s nomination of the former Chairperson of Nigeria’s electoral commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, as an ambassador.
It also called on civil society organisations, the media, political leaders, and citizens to reject Mr Yakubu, a professor’s nomination.
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This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Yunusa Ya’u, Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and Co-conveners Mindoro Achakpa and Franklin Oloniju.
The situation room is a group of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible elections and governance in Nigeria.
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Mr Tinubu on Saturday nominated the immediate past INEC Chairperson, Mr Yakubu who oversaw his election, as one of the 32 ambassadorial nominees sent to the National Assembly.
However, the Situation Room said Mr Yakubu’s nomination and eventual clearance would set a dangerous precedent in Nigeria’s democracy, which it said is akin to officials who conduct elections being rewarded by the winners of the elections.
The group said the nomination is ill-timed, inappropriate, and injurious to the electoral commission’s independence.
It said while no law forbids the nomination of former INEC Chairpersons to political or diplomatic appointments, the spirit of democratic ethics demands a cooling-off period before such individuals are considered for positions conferred by political office holders.
“The Senate must act to safeguard the independence and credibility of INEC, uphold public trust in Nigeria’s electoral institutions, and prevent the normalisation of political patronage for electoral officials,” the statement said.
“Nigeria cannot afford a democracy where those who conduct elections are rewarded by the winners. Such a climate erodes democratic values and weakens the legitimacy of public institutions.”
The Situation Room expresses concern over the nomination, noting it raises “serious questions of propriety, public morality, and the long-term integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system”.
It said the nomination undermines public trust in the electoral process, considering he oversaw Mr Tinubu’s election in 2023.
“To now elevate the same individual to a prestigious diplomatic position—directly conferred by the principal beneficiary of the election he conducted—creates an unmistakable impression of reward for political favour. This is deeply damaging to public confidence in Nigeria’s democracy,” the statement added.
“It signals to serving INEC leadership and staff that cooperation with incumbents during elections could lead to personal reward, political appointments, or career advancement.
Such a perception fundamentally compromises the neutrality of the electoral umpire and threatens the credibility of future elections, including the 2027 electoral cycle. Democracy collapses where the election management body is perceived as beholden to political actors.
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Earlier, the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had also condemned Mr Yakubu’s appointment, describing it as an “excellent example of a skewed reward system, which we suspect is designed as an incentive to the new INEC Chairman, to also deliver flawed elections in 2027, in expectation of future rewards.”
“Specifically, we convey the disappointment of many right-thinking Nigerians on the nomination of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate-past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), whose administration of our electoral umpire was characterised by countless double-speaks, flip-flops, and undelivered promises, which ultimately resulted in the birth of this administration, which is struggling in all areas of governance,” the PDP said in a statement by its Spokesperson, Ini Ememobong.
