Profile: Meet May Agbamuche-Mbu new acting INEC chair

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the appointment of National Commissioner May Agbamuche-Mbu as the Acting Chairman of the Commission.

She takes over from Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who on Tuesday formally handed over his duties as he proceeds on terminal leave. The transition was confirmed during a stakeholders’ meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

Agbamuche-Mbu, a seasoned lawyer with more than three decades of professional experience, hails from Delta State but was born in Kano. She attended St. Louis Secondary School, Kano, before proceeding to the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where she earned an LLB in 1984. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985.

She later attended the College of Law, London, qualifying as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. She also holds a Master’s degree in Commercial and Corporate Law from Queen Mary and Westfield College, London, as well as postgraduate degrees in International Dispute Resolution and International Business Law.

Prof Mahmood Yakubu handing over to acting INEC chair, May Agbamuche-Mbu

An expert in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Agbamuche-Mbu is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), Nigeria branch, where she previously served as Secretary.

She has had a distinguished career in both public service and private practice. Between 2010 and 2011, she was the sole solicitor on the Presidential Projects Assessment Committee, which evaluated major abandoned public projects nationwide. In 2016, she was appointed to the Ministerial Committee that prepared the Road Map for the Solid Minerals Sector.

Before joining INEC as a National Commissioner, Agbamuche-Mbu was the managing partner of Norfolk Partners, a Lagos-based law firm. She also built a reputation as a respected public commentator, serving as editor of THISDAY Lawyer and authoring more than 120 legal editorials in her widely followed column, Legal Eagle.

Her appointment as Acting INEC Chairman comes at a crucial time for Nigeria’s electoral system, as the Commission faces increasing pressure to strengthen credibility, transparency and voter confidence ahead of the 2027 general elections.