REVEALED: How Tinubu delayed INEC chairman’s exit after secret send-forth dinner in June

An unpublicised send-forth dinner was held in honour of Mahmood Yakubu, professor of history and chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), at the Continental Hotel in Abuja on June 15, TheCable can report.

This was in preparation for his disengagement as the country’s top electoral chief after serving an unprecedented two terms in office.

Yakubu had also cleared his desk and was preparing to hand over to one of the senior national commissioners so that he could proceed on a three-month terminal leave in July.

However, in his search for a successor, President Bola Tinubu directed Yakubu to serve out his full term, presidential sources told TheCable.

Yakubu was appointed in October 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari and he assumed office on November 9.

He was re-appointed for another term of five years in 2020.

The tenure of an INEC chairman is a maximum of two terms.

Ahead of his disengagement, Yakubu prepared his handover notes and informed his friends and associates of his imminent exit.

A small group of his close aides and allies thereafter hosted him to a send-forth dinner held at the Continental Hotel in Abuja on June 15.

His decision to leave early, according to an associate who spoke to TheCable, was to pave the way for Tinubu to appoint a successor in good time before the activities for 2027 election heat up.

The Anambra governorship election will hold on November 8 and Yakubu’s tenure ends the following day when some of the results from the polling units will still be awaited.

“For weeks around May-June, his staff piled out heaps of suitcases containing his personal effect, including books and newspapers. He literally emptied the office,” said an INEC official who said he witnessed the movements.

But while Yakubu was prepared to leave, Tinubu urged him to “hang on” as he was still searching for a suitable replacement, sources told TheCable.

A senior INEC official told TheCable that while the president was contemplating the succession, the chairman made repeated attempts to leave without waiting for a substantive replacement.

TheCable learnt that about a month ago, Yakubu wanted to hand over to May Agbamuche-Mbu, one of the most senior national commissioners.

He was, however, advised to remain afoot to avoid complications.

A similar scenario played out in July 2015 when the tenure of Attahiru Jega, a professor of political science and Yakubu’s successor, ended.

Jega handed over to Amina Zakari, one of the senior commissioners, but Buhari nominated Yakubu as the substantive chairman months later.

Zakari would have been the first female chair of the commission but she still made history as a pioneer in an acting position.

Had Yakubu handed over to Agbamuche-Mbu, she too would have made some history.

The bid to replace the INEC chairman has been a subject of rumours and intense lobbying in the power corridors for months.