Is Former INEC Chair Yakubu Now an Ambassador?

By Farooq Kperogi Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in his press statement today that former INEC chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has b...

By Farooq Kperogi

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in his press statement today that former INEC chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has been appointed an ambassador by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

But the list of newly appointed ambassadors circulating on social media names a “Mahmud Yakubu” from Ekiti State. If that list is accurate, two issues stand out.

First, Prof. Yakubu is from Bauchi State, not Ekiti State. Second, he spells his first name “Mahmood,” not “Mahmud.” He is particular about retaining the double “o,” just as I am about the spelling of my own name.

Beyond that, it would be unusual for someone from Ekiti to bear the name “Mahmud Yakubu” without a Yoruba name attached. The state is predominantly Christian and the Muslim minorities there (like most Yoruba Muslims) tend to pair Islamic names with Yoruba names.

So is the list mistaken, fabricated, or did Onanuga assume that a “Mahmud Yakubu” from Ekiti must be the former INEC chair?

This is separate from the question of whether it is ethically sound to appoint a former electoral umpire as an ambassador so soon after he presided over an election in which the president was a candidate. Such an appointment can look like a reward for underhanded partisan loyalty.

Still, I will hold off on that judgement until it becomes clear who was actually appointed.