The tenure of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, will end in November 2025, by which time he will have completed his constitutionally allowed two terms.

Findings by Vanguard revealed that President Bola Tinubu is yet to take a position on who succeeds Yakubu, even as fresh intrigues emerge over plots to install a “suitable replacement.”

According to sources, some political interests are already putting forward names for consideration, with a clear preference for individuals they consider “useful” ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Some of those being positioned had previously served as National Commissioners or Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), but their track records have been questioned.

The development has triggered memories of past controversial elections. Nigerians still recall the 2003 and 2007 general elections, widely described as flawed, with the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua admitting publicly that the 2007 poll that brought him to power was deeply compromised.

Naijaonpoint understands that a repeat of such manipulation if the succession process is left in the hands of political lobbyists.

The ongoing succession manoeuvres also recall the drama of 2015, when former President Muhammadu Buhari threw INEC into controversy after the exit of reformist chairman Professor Attahiru Jega.

Jega had, in line with statutory seniority, handed over to Ambassador (Dr.) Ahmed Wali, a National Commissioner, as acting chairman. But within 24 hours, Buhari bypassed Wali and appointed Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari, his relation, sparking nationwide uproar.

The Head of Service at the time, Danladi Kifasi, conveyed the appointment in a letter dated June 30, 2015. The move, however, was seen as nepotistic, given that Zakari was junior to Wali in INEC’s hierarchy.

The controversy left INEC in a storm of credibility questions until October 21, 2015, when Buhari eventually named Mahmood Yakubu as substantive chairman, after months of lobbying and counter-lobbying.