Ohanaeze Youth Wing Defends Ex-INEC Chair Yakubu’s Nomination As Ambassador

The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has defended the nomination of former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, as an ambassador by President Bola Tinubu, saying the criticisms trailing his inclusion on the 35-nominee list were unfounded and not in the national interest.

Prof. Yakubu’s nomination has generated backlash from some political actors and civil society groups who argued that his appointment was inappropriate, citing his recent role as INEC chairman and the fact that he supervised the 2023 general election that brought President Tinubu to power.

But, in a statement issued on Tuesday, the National President of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (ONYC) Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, dismissed the objections as “misplaced” and driven largely by political resentment.

Okwu noted that the Ohanaeze youth wing had previously commended INEC under Yakubu’s leadership for what it described as a fair electoral process in 2023, stressing that those who lost at the polls had refused to move on.

“Does it mean that since he worked as INEC chairman, and conducted an election that brought President Bola Tinubu into power, he should retire from active public service?” Okwu queried.

He argued that no election anywhere in the world is “100 per cent perfect,” but added that Yakubu oversaw a process in which sitting governors and members of the National Assembly lost their seats—an outcome he described as evidence of independence and fairness.

“Prof. Yakubu introduced several reforms that strengthened the electoral system, and it is left for the new INEC leadership to build on those reforms,” the statement read.

Okwu further insisted that the former INEC chairman remains a distinguished public servant whose constitutional rights should not be curtailed on account of his past office.

“Apart from serving as INEC chairman, Prof. Yakubu had previously held other positions, including Chairman of TETFUND, and he was not found wanting. His track record earned him the INEC position, and he served meritoriously for 10 years,” he said.

The group urged the Senate to proceed with Yakubu’s confirmation, insisting that the opposition to his nomination does not reflect genuine concern for national advancement.

“All the criticisms against him are not borne out of patriotic motivation but parochial interests,” the Ohanaeze youth leader maintained.