Dr. Monday Ubani, SAN, a prominent human rights lawyer and activist, has called on the Federal Government to ensure that the next Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is appointed from the South-South region of Nigeria.
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With the tenure of the current INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, set to end in October 2025 after serving two five-year terms, Ubani emphasized that the choice of his successor will be crucial to the credibility and success of the 2027 general elections.
“The time has come for fairness and logical equity to be considered in the appointment of the next INEC chairman,” Ubani said. “The South-West currently holds the presidency, and the outgoing INEC chairman is from the North-East. It is only right that the South-South or South-East produces the next chairman.”
He stressed that beyond regional fairness, the appointee must be a person of impeccable character and strong moral standing. “Nigerians need someone that can really assure the true independence of INEC. The candidate must be qualified and must also be a man or woman with a history of fairness, truthfulness, high integrity and a very strong character,” he said.
Ubani also argued that the candidate must possess a clear commitment to electoral reform and neutrality, stating, “He must be zealous for a proper and unbiased electoral process and the right thing to be done for the nation.”
Reflecting on the history of INEC leadership, the senior advocate pointed out that past chairmen have mostly come from the North. “The INEC chairman has always come from the South-East, North-West, and North-East, is it not? For a very long time, the position of the INEC chairman has been held by Northerners,” he observed.
He noted that the last southerner to hold the post was Abel Guobadia from the South-East, appointed by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. “The government should now look towards the South-South if they want to be fair,” he concluded.
Professor Yakubu, who was appointed in 2015 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, has supervised two general elections in 2019 and 2023. His successor is expected to lead the Commission into the critical 2027 elections.
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