Professor Mahmood Yakubu on Tuesday officially handed over leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to May Agbamuche-Mbu, the longest-serving National Commissioner of the body.

Naijaonpoint recalls that the handover took place at the INEC headquarters in Abuja during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

Following the ceremony, Agbamuche assumed duty as Acting Chairman of INEC, pending the appointment of a substantive successor by President Bola Tinubu.

Amidst the transition, speculations have intensified that Professor Joash Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Professor of Law, and current Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, may be favoured as Yakubu’s replacement.

Sources told Vanguard that Amupitan “came highly recommended” for the role and has already undergone security screening.

Insiders also revealed that President Tinubu sought the institutional guidance of the current APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, who previously served as Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Benue State between July 2017 and December 2021.

A source noted that Yilwatda, known for his “fair-mindedness,” deliberately avoided any move that could create “negative optics of interference” in the President’s choice of Yakubu’s successor.

According to the insider, the APC chairman “did not do anything that would create negative optics of interference in the choice of Yakubu’s replacement.”

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