SERAP Urges President Tinubu to Ensure Transparent Appointment of Next INEC Chairman

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to make public the process for selecting the successor to Professor Mahmood Yakubu, whose 10-year tenure as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will end in November 2025.

In a letter dated September 27, 2025, and signed by deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP demanded that Tinubu disclose “the number and names of candidates for INEC chairman and whether the Council of State has been consulted or will be consulted in making the appointment, as constitutionally required.”

The group also called on the President to “use the opportunity of the appointment of a new INEC chairman to reconsider your appointment of at least three alleged members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), and to nominate non-members of a political party as replacement.”

Yakubu, first appointed in 2015 and reappointed in 2020, will leave office in November 2025 after serving two terms. His successor is to be appointed by the President, subject to Senate confirmation.

SERAP emphasized that the process must be transparent, warning that secrecy would undermine INEC’s independence. “The selection and appointment process for Mr Yakubu’s replacement cannot and should not be a closed shop. A transparent and accountable process would serve legitimate public interests,” the organisation stated.

It further argued that “openness and transparency in the selection and appointment process would improve public trust in the commission’s independence and impartiality and citizens’ participation in the electoral process.”

Highlighting Nigeria’s constitutional and international obligations, SERAP warned: “Secrecy in the selection and appointment process would be inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution and incompatible with the country’s international human rights obligations. It would undermine the independence, autonomy and accountability of INEC and the right of Nigerians to a free and fair election.”

The group stressed that only competent, impartial, and non-partisan candidates should be considered. “Anyone to be appointed as INEC chairman must clearly be non-partisan, independent, impartial and neutral. INEC chairman and other officials ought to be able to discharge their legal duties and implement the Electoral Act without fear or favour,” it said.

SERAP gave the federal government seven days to respond, warning that failure to do so may lead to legal action to compel compliance.

“The credibility and legitimacy of elections depend mostly on the independence and impartiality of those appointed to manage the process. Without an independent and impartial INEC, the democratic rights of Nigerians would remain illusory,” it stressed.

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