Labour Party (LP) chieftain and 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has cautioned President Bola Tinubu against appointing anyone with a record of electoral manipulation as successor to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, whose 10-year tenure expires on November 9, 2025.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Baba-Ahmed alleged that Yakubu presided over irregularities during the 2023 presidential election, which Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won against Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“All I want is a credible person, not somebody who will clearly rig what the constitution provides … and go ahead to breach the constitution and put Nigeria into what Nigeria is today,” Baba-Ahmed said. “Throughout human history, individuals make or break societies.”
The 55-year-old politician argued that electoral fraud remains Nigeria’s gravest national challenge, fueling corruption, insecurity, and the erosion of public trust in leadership.
“Electoral fraud is the single most important fact to be addressed in our lives as a nation, even beyond insecurity. Insecurity is derived from electoral fraud. Corruption is aggravated by electoral fraud,” he said.
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Yakubu, 75, who was appointed in 2015 by then-President Muhammadu Buhari and reappointed in 2020, will leave office in November. His successor is to be chosen by President Tinubu, sparking debate over credibility, regional balance, and the future of Nigeria’s democracy.
Yakubu had succeeded Prof. Attahiru Jega, widely credited with conducting the 2015 elections that brought Buhari to power. His tenure has been marked by reforms but also by controversies, particularly the disputed 2023 polls, which opposition leaders challenged up to the Supreme Court — unsuccessfully.
Baba-Ahmed insisted that the credibility of the next INEC chair would be pivotal to Nigeria’s democratic survival, stressing: “Our leadership recruitment is the bane of our problems. If we don’t get it right, insecurity and corruption will continue to thrive.”