Tag: Yakubu

THE Senate has confirmed the nomination of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Chairman.

It  also confirmed the nomination of Mr. Solomon Adedeji Soyebi (Southwest); Dr. Mohammed Mustapha Lecky (Southsouth), Hajia Amina Zakari (Northwest) Dr. Antonia Taiye Okoosi Simbine (Northcentral) and Alhaji Baba Shettima Arfo (Northeast) as national commissioners.

President Muhammadu Buhari asked the Senate to confirm them in accordance with Section 154(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

At their screening yesterday, Minority Leader Senator Godswill Akpabio asked Yakubu to reassure Nigerians that he would  be fair.

Yakubu  said: “I cannot be intimidated. It is too late for me to be intimidated in anything in this country. I have the character to do the right thing. Secondly, in the course of my public service, I have received many accolades, including eight honorary doctorate degrees with none from my state. I have reconciled myself to the service of  Nigeria.”

Asked by Majority Leader Ali Ndume  how he will  address late arrival of election materials,  Yakubu said early preparation for election was important.

The country, he said, should do away with the fire-brigade mentality in the conduct of elections.

He said the 12.3 million permanent voter cards (PVCs) that were not distributed before the 2015 general elections would be circulated next year.

He added that 70 million voters were registered, 56.6 million PVCs were distributed and 500,000 PVCs were not printed.

Yakubu said  INEC would improve on the registration and distribution of PVCs.

On electronic voting, he said one day the country would embrace electronic voting.

He, however, cautioned that the country should tread cautiously, taking cognisance of the experience of other countries that embraced  electronic voting without proper planning.

The country was still grappling with the problem of infrastructure and should not rush into electronic voting, he said.

He noted that great improvement was made in 2015 elections that INEC should continue to consolidate on.

On the use of card readers, he said anything not tested would pose some challenge.

He assured that whatever challenges discovered with the use of the card readers would be improved upon.

 On the reforms he intended to bring, Yakubu hailed his predecessor, Prof. Attahiru Jega, for doing a great work in the commission.

He said whatever is in INEC required consolidation and improvement for better performance.

Yakubu described diaspora voting as desirable.

He added, however, that fundamental reforms needed to be made, including constitution review of relevant sections before Diaspora voting could be done.

The INEC chairman-designate assured that “never again will elections be won or lost at INEC headquarters”.

Those who want to win election, he said, must go to the field because elections will be won or lost at the polling booths.

Soyebi, who answered questions on electronic voting, told the Senate that most of the operations of INEC have gone electronic.

He noted that the only thing left is electronic voting.

Soyebi said: “Whether we like it or not, technology is here with us. I will strongly suggest we go the whole hug and do electronic voting.”

On the problems associated with the card readers, he said the technology was used for the first time in the country in 2015.

Lecky promised to work with other commissioners to ensure that INEC adhered to electoral best practices at all times.

He said card readers should be extended to all elections, adding that INEC should improve on electoral transparency and electoral violence.

Mrs. Zakari told the Senate that she had been part of the reform process in the commission, explaining that she is also aware of what needed to be further reformed.

She noted that the public understanding of the electoral process was important.

Mrs. Zakari stressed the need for improvement in external and internal communication of the commission.

Simbine said if confirmed, she would be unbiased in the course of her functions.

Shettima said the commission would continue to create a level-playing field for all players in the electoral field.

When this (yesterday) afternoon, the news flittered into town that the council of state has just confirmed Prof Mahmud Yakubu as the new boss of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I quickly remembered my several encounters in the past with this extra-ordinary Nigerian in the ordinary course of business.

I thought that given the pedigree of the last occupant of that exalted substantive office in the person of Prof Attahiru Jega, Nigerians would naturally be interested in the antecedents of the newly appointed INEC chief.  I have some testimonies to share in this respect.

Few years back, I was assigned the prosecution of certain top executives of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and upon reviewing the casefile, I concluded that Prof Yakubu, then the Chief Executive of Education Trust Fund (ETF), was necessary to be called as a prosecution witness for the state.

I sought audience with him, announced my mission and requested that his expert evidence will be required to assist the court in the proceedings.  Prof Yakubu willingly agreed, treated me with uncommon courtesies and offered all necessary assistance in facilitating the efficient execution of my prosecutorial assignment.  I noticed that in the several pre-trial conferences held with him he came across to me as a thorough bred professional who was merely interested in the justice of the case and would not allow any other extraneous considerations influence the discharge of his public duties.  He was cool, calm and collected in my several encounters with him.  He also came across to me as very humble and extremely knowledgeable.  Of course one would not expect anything less from someone who rose to become a professor in his calling.

I recall leading the erudite Prof Yakubu in evidence-in-chief.  I also recall that he willingly made himself available in the course of proceedings and before Retired Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the erudite Prof Yakubu stood in the witness box for hours, narrating with precision the facts of the case as known to him supporting his evidence with necessary materials and sound delivery to the admiration of all.

At the end of his evidence-in-chief, he took questions from the six defence counsel in the matter with candour and the highest degree of professionalism.  As soon as the proceedings of the day were concluded, Prof Yakubu exchanged pleasantries with counsel and left hurriedly for his office to continue the discharge of his other responsibilities.  The court found his evidence forthright, well-delivered and useful in arriving at the justice of the case at the end of the proceedings.

What are my impressions of the professor?

I can readily say without any fear of contradiction that Prof Yakubu is a gentle man and a thoroughbred professional. I found him very accessible, humble and a serious minded professional who discharges his responsibilities without any fear or favour.  He also appears to me to be well-grounded.  I also noticed that throughout his sojourn at the ETF he was well regarded, appreciated and respected by the rank and file.  He also has a very rich resume, having served excellently in several administrative and leadership positions, including mentorship of several Nigerians in the course of his educational career.

I have no doubt in my mind that the erudite Prof Yakubu that I had the rare privilege of interacting with professionally and in the ordinary course of business in the past is a good choice as the INEC chair and certainly a worthy successor to Prof Jega.

I believe that he will approach his new assignment with integrity, character, competence, capacity, hard-work and the highest degree of patriotism.

I urge Nigerians to cooperate with him in raising the high standards INEC has already attained to a new level.

And to Prof Yakubu, Nigerians expect nothing less than a free, fair, credible and peaceful conduct of our future elections in this country while he remains in the saddle as the INEC chair.  If the professor delivers on this mandate, he would have written his name in letters of Gold.