Professor Mahmood Yakubu has handed over the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to May Agbamuche-Mbu, who now assumes office as Acting National Chairman. Yakubu, who completed his second and final five-year term, made the announcement on Tuesday during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) at the INEC headquarters in Abuja. He called on the commission’s directors and commissioners to extend full cooperation to Agbamuche during the transition period.

Agbamuche-Mbu, the oldest serving National Commissioner, will oversee the commission’s activities until President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appoints a substantive chairman, subject to Senate confirmation.

Yakubu, first appointed in November 2015 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, made history as the first individual to serve two consecutive terms as INEC Chairman. During his tenure, INEC conducted multiple off-cycle elections and two general elections, in 2019 and 2023.

His decade-long leadership witnessed the introduction of major electoral reforms, including the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), both aimed at enhancing transparency and public confidence in the electoral process.