INEC debunks reports claiming its chairman, Yakubu Mahmood, has been sacked

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has debunked social media reports that its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, was sacked by President Bola Tinubu.

A viral message shared on WhatsApp suggested that Mahmood had been sacked.

“INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu has been replaced with Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan by President Tinubu,” the message, which had no attribution, read

However, in a chat with Vanguard, the Chief Press Secretary CPS to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, simply said: “Please, disregard. It is not true.”

Yakubu, who is rounding off his second tenure in office, is expected to exit the system towards the end of the year. The process of appointing an INEC chairman is the President nominating a candidate and forwarding his particulars to the Department of State Services, DSS, for profiling.

After such screening, the President thereafter takes the name to the National Council of State for its advisory review. Based on the outcome, the President sends the name to the Senate for screening and confirmation.