Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), revealed that the commission has proposed 142 recommendations to enhance future electoral processes in Nigeria. This announcement was made on Monday in Lagos during the opening of a two-day induction retreat for resident electoral commissioners (RECs).

Yakubu noted that INEC had published a comprehensive review of the 2023 elections, now available on the commission's website. He stated, “There is also the outcome of the retreats and engagements with stakeholders, which is now being published. I can tell you that the commission has made 142 recommendations on the improvement of the electoral process in Nigeria.”

The INEC chairman mentioned that the public would be informed about the reforms once the report is finalized. He categorized the reforms into several groups: most are for implementation by INEC through administrative actions, some require action by security agencies, others necessitate amendments to the electoral legal frameworks by the National Assembly, and a few involve political parties and other stakeholders.

Yakubu highlighted the upcoming FCT Area Council elections in 2026, emphasizing the commission's ongoing responsibilities. Addressing the recent flood disaster in Edo that affected over 4,000 Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, Yakubu reported that around 3,500 machines had been recovered but additional support from neighboring states would be necessary for the elections.

Discussing the retreat, Yakubu explained that it serves as both an induction for new appointees and an opportunity to review performance, reappraise processes, discuss innovations, and engage with service providers. It also provides a platform to interface with lawmakers on critical areas of reform and explore new ways to improve organizational capacity for better service delivery.

INEC plans to conduct four major elections before 2027, including the Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun governorship elections. Yakubu stressed the importance of ongoing engagement with the National Assembly for legal reforms essential to the electoral process.

He urged the new RECs to familiarize themselves with the commission’s processes and procedures and called on the existing RECs to use their field experience to address recurring challenges in pre-election and post-election litigation and operational issues.