As the 10-year tenure of the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu winds down, stock taking has commenced. One thing that he will be remembered for is his quest for electronic voting. Prof. Yakubu assumed office on Nov. 9, 2015 and will leave on December 6.
Stakeholders in the electoral process and lovers of democracy are quick to say how the commission fared under Prof. Yakubu. Nigeria is among countries with the most complex Election Management process. The country’s electoral process has since the first one in 1922 during colonialism to the present time had been characterized by fraud such as imposition of candidates, rigging, stuffing of ballots, violence etc.
In Nigeria, a national election day puts the entire country on the edge. Public offices and businesses generally are closed, turning the place into a war-like setting. As government works towards tackling the challenges, politicians, in their do-or-die manner, keep changing tactics in their bid to undermine the effort and maintain the status quo.
For instance, when eyes were fixed on ballot box snatchers, a new crafty way emerged in the name of Ballot Sale/Ballot Buying. It is commonly called Vote Buying. Here, the voter is induced with a bribe ranging from N5,000 to N20,000 to vote for a candidate.
Upon taking the money, the voter puts their thumb on the logo of the negotiated party and brandishes it to the party agent saddled with the responsibility of consummating the deal. This unwholesome act abruptly came up when INEC was celebrating the technological innovation that rendered ballot snatching a futile endeavour.
Anyhow, INEC under Prof. Yakubu can be said to have achieved a lot in the face of these numerous and daunting challenges. In his tenure, Yakubu has continually engaged all relevant stakeholders in the electoral process viz: political parties, security agencies, civil society organisations etc, explaining to them the electoral umpire’s innovations and actions towards a better democratic journey.
Prof. Yakubu stands tall among all who have served the commission in the capacity he has. He has steered the ship without rancour. No wonder he is the first INEC chairman to spend two terms in office.
However, the failure of INEC portal to complete the transmission of the presidential election result in February, 2023 was a blow to the stewardship of the erudite professor. In fact, some party stalwarts attempted to capitalise on this unfortunate development to thwart the collation of the result. But for what Prof. Yakubu had been known for, some intervention came from Nigerians of goodwill and the process was midwifed to finish.
Under Prof. Yakubu, corruption enabling processes were weeded out in the commission. Person-to-person interactions are minimised as the INEC portal now serves that purpose. For this reason, party candidates no longer pay exploitative charges to INEC staff in the name of filling their data to the commission. Submission of all relevant documents is by the portal — free of charge.
One of the biggest achievements of Prof. Yakubu was the revision and publication of the Electoral Act in 2022. This brought to the fore innovations that guided the conduct of the 2023 general elections. This proved government’s commitment to the use of technology in managing elections in the country. It was a march in line with the global technological advancement.
Similarly, to enhance transparency and ease of electioneering and the electoral process, Prof. Yakubu produced the Innovations in Electoral Technology 2015-2025 and Election Management in Nigeria 2015-2025. These easily available documents keep the public well informed about innovations and changes in the conduct of elections in the country.
From the conduct of the Kogi Governorship election on Nov. 21, 2015 to the Anambra Governorship Election on Nov. 8, 2025, the commission under Prof. Yakubu will have conducted elections into 4,500 constituencies across the country, spanning two general elections in 2019 and 2023 and other Off-Cycle Governorship, bye- and re-run elections into various federal, state and FCT Area Council constituencies.
Under Prof. Yakubu, Nigeria attained greater transparency and accountability in the conduct of elections ranging from the introduction of fixed dates for general elections; more efficient voter management practices; and the expansion of voter access to Polling Units (PUs).
Also, there has been greater openness in information management and dissemination; development and deployment of fit-for-purpose electoral technologies; as well as devoting greater attention to the welfare of staff, both regular and ad-hoc.
The introduction of simultaneous of accreditation and voting (CAVs); the development and deployment of the INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) and Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS); the expansion of voter access to polling units that ended a 25-year-old jinx, transforming polling units in Nigeria from 119,974 to 176,846; the promotion and expansion of inclusivity measures to persons with disability (PwD), internally displaced persons (IDPs) and to women and youths; the development and deployment of the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal and several other portals to manage the submission of the list of candidates and agents from political parties, election observers and the media; the deployment of additional technology to facilitate the coordination, planning, monitoring, early warning and implementation of electoral activities through the EMSC; as well as the expansion of the commission’s role in the provision of electoral assistance to electoral management bodies across the West African Region are what Nigerians will remember Prof. Yakubu for.
Prof. Yakubu’s successor should not jettison what he has done in the march toward electronic voting. The way has been paved so INEC should not relent in the process.
Electronic voting is the surest way to eliminate rancour and make the electoral process free, error free and credible. It will greatly reduce cost. The journey to electronic voting must be accomplished.
No more, no less!
• Adekwagh wrote from Abuja
