President Bola Tinubu has been put on notice. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project demands transparency. They insist on full transparency for appointing the next chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. The public should be allowed to view the entire process. This would guarantee scrutiny.
In a letter dated 27 September 2025, SERAP spoke through deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare. They demanded the names and number of candidates. They also asked whether the Council of State had been consulted as the constitution requires.
The urgency of the demand is obvious. Professor Mahmood Yakubu will reach the statutory end of his two five-year terms this November. He has served a decade as the steward of Nigeria’s electoral calendar.
The appointment of his successor falls to the president. This appointment is dependent on Senate confirmation. Yet, SERAP says that process can’t be a closed shop. Public confidence in the 2027 polls must be preserved.
Trouble at INEC, Real or Manufactured
The timing of SERAP’s letter follows a storm of reports that have convulsed the capital. SaharaReporters has run exclusives alleging that Prof Joash Ojo Amupitan SAN has emerged as President Tinubu’s preferred candidate.
The reports allege that the president ordered Professor Yakubu to go on leave. This was ahead of the formal expiry of his tenure. The outlet said the leave directive was presented as a response. It was because of an alleged “last-minute betrayal” by Yakubu.
This betrayal was against the All Progressives Congress government that appointed him. If true, those are explosive allegations that speak to raw executive impatience with an ostensibly independent electoral arbiter.
Legal scholars and rights groups will watch closely because the law is precise about one thing. The president must consult the Council of State before appointing the chairman or a member of INEC. This necessity is stated in the 1999 Constitution.
That consultation is not a mere formality. It is meant to build consensus and insulate such appointments from naked partisan capture.
SERAP’s Core Demands and the Stakes
SERAP made three pointed demands. First, reveal the pool of candidates and the procedure used to vet them. Second, confirm that the Council of State will be consulted. Third, use the appointment as an opportunity to revisit allegations. At least three Resident Electoral Commissioners are active members of the All Progressives Congress. Replace them with non-party nominees. In short, SERAP wants safeguards against an INEC that is anything less than neutral.
Why does this matter beyond constitutional niceties? Because perception shapes legitimacy. SERAP warned that where the public doubts the independence of INEC, confidence in election outcomes collapses.
That loss of confidence does not affect only political rivals. It eats away at the social licence of every future administration. It enlarges the space for post-electoral litigation, street protests, and international rebuke. SERAP also made explicit its willingness to take legal action if the government does not respond within seven days.
Partisan Appointments Are No Small Matter
The campaign to depoliticise election management is not new. Civil society organisations, donors, and international election observers have warned for years. They believe that partisan entanglement at the top of election management bodies corrodes process and outcome.
Nigeria’s Electoral Act and constitutional architecture were designed to temper those risks. This is achieved by combining executive nomination with Senate confirmation.
Additionally, it involves Council of State consultation. Yet the practice of partisan appointment of Resident Electoral Commissioners has become a flashpoint.
SERAP’s demand that alleged party-affiliated RECs be replaced is a direct challenge to the administration.
The Leave Question and a Legal Challenge
SaharaReporters’ account that President Tinubu told Professor Yakubu to continue on leave has already prompted legal commentary. Senior counsel Femi Falana has publicly argued against the president’s constitutional authority.
He claims the president can’t send the INEC chairman on terminal leave. This action raises a ground for litigation if the leave is enforced to pre-empt statutory tenure.
That legal argument plugs directly into SERAP’s threat of court action. If a sitting INEC chair is effectively sidelined without transparent grounds, the judiciary is asked to adjudicate executive overreach.
A Candidate Called Amupitan
The name most often mentioned in the media as a possible successor is Prof Joash Ojo Amupitan SAN. He is a distinguished academic and senior advocate with a broad legal CV.
A candidate’s pedigree alone will not suffice. This is especially true if appointment mechanics play out behind closed doors. Additionally, if RECs with partisan ties remain in place, it raises concerns. The credibility of an incoming chairman will depend on the clarity of process not on press speculation.
What an Open Process Would Look Like
An accountable appointment would start with publication of criteria for the chairmanship and a short list of candidates. The Council of State’s role should be demonstrable not perfunctory.
Nominees should be vetted in public Senate hearings. There should be full disclosure of any political affiliations. This includes conflicts of interest and earlier statements on key electoral matters.
Crucially, Resident Electoral Commissioners whose impartiality is in doubt should be recused from sensitive decisions. Alternatively, they should be replaced before the next general election. That is the reform SERAP seeks and the public deserves.
In conclusion, this is a watershed moment for Nigeria’s electoral architecture. The appointment that follows Professor Yakubu’s exit is not merely a personnel change. It will test the Tinubu administration’s respect for constitutional checks. It will also decide if public confidence can be restored ahead of the high stakes 2027 polls.
SERAP has signalled it will litigate if necessary. The courts, the Senate, and the Council of State now stand in the glare of public scrutiny. The choice the president makes, and how he makes it, will echo across Nigeria’s political life for years.
