Mahmood Yakubu has been received back to the INEC headquarters by a mammoth crowd, who are mostly staff members of the commission, in Abuja. The reactions of the crowd comes a day after he was re-appointed as the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) for a second term of five years.
He was sworn-in on Wednesday 9th December 2020, by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the statehouse, Abuja, and has resumed work at the INEC headquarters.
The swearing-in took place at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, before the commencement of the 27th virtual Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting.
Buhari reappointed Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman of INEC for another five-year term. He is the first chair to be reappointed to head the commission.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu who did not expect the warm reception he got from the crowd when he resumed on Thursday 10th December 2020, was seen shaking hands with the excited crowd.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu speaking after his swearing in on Wednesday, said, “We have clearly demonstrated in recent elections that elections are getting better and they will continue to get better. “The National Assembly is holding a public hearing on the amendment of the electoral legal framework.
“This is important and this time around, working with the National Assembly, we’ll ensure a speedy passage of the amendment bill and once it is assented to, it will help us enormously in confronting the challenges ahead.
“The preparations for 2023 general elections have proceeded in earnest, we need certainty and therefore the electoral legal framework is fundamental, without which we cannot formulate our regulations and guidelines.
“Without our regulations and guidelines, we cannot conclude work on the manual for the training of ad-hoc staff for the elections. “So from here, I am going to proceed to the National Assembly, so work begins in earnest and we have already started.”