In a statement posted on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, Atiku condemned the decision, describing it as inappropriate, damaging to public trust, and suggestive of political compensation.
Former Nigerian Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday slammed President Bola Tinubu for nominating the former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for an ambassadorial position.
In a statement posted on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, Atiku condemned the decision, describing it as inappropriate, damaging to public trust, and suggestive of political compensation.
SaharaReporters on November 30, 2025, reported that President Tinubu transmitted a second batch of ambassadorial nominees to the Senate, forwarding 32 additional names just days after submitting an initial list of three.
In two separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu urged the Senate to “consider and confirm expeditiously” 15 career ambassadorial nominees and 17 non-career nominees.
Among the non-career nominees, the Presidency highlighted notable figures, including Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu from Abia; former presidential aide, Reno Omokri (Delta); former INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu; former Ekiti First Lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo; and former Enugu Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Others include Tasiu Musa Maigari, the former speaker of the Katsina House of Assembly, Yakubu N. Gambo, a former Commissioner in Plateau State and former deputy executive secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
Reacting to the nomination of the former INEC chairman who presided over the 2023 general elections, where Atiku on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lost the presidential election to Tinubu, the former Vice President said he could not have ever rewarded what he described as Yakubu’s “morally indefensible” compromise and partisanship while serving as electoral umpire’s boss.
"Let me state without ambiguity: under no circumstance would I, as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, nominate the immediate past INEC Chairman for an ambassadorial position,” he wrote.
Atiku warned that such a move raises grave concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and risks reinforcing perceptions that controversial election outcomes could be rewarded.
"Such a nomination raises serious concerns. It risks appearing as a quid pro quo rather than a recognition of merit,” he said.
He further criticised the optics of the decision, arguing that it reflects poorly on the current administration’s credibility and could set a dangerous precedent for the nation’s electoral management body.
"It presents terrible optics for an administration already struggling with credibility. It sends the wrong message to the current INEC leadership that partisan, compromised, or poorly executed elections may ultimately be rewarded.”
Let me state without ambiguity: under no circumstance would I, as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, nominate the immediate past INEC Chairman for an ambassadorial position.
Such a nomination raises serious concerns. It risks appearing as a quid pro quo rather than a…
— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) December 4, 2025
The former Vice President also questioned the morality of rewarding an electoral umpire who, he said, oversaw one of Nigeria’s most hotly contested and disputed elections.
"And most importantly, it is morally indefensible for an umpire at the centre of one of the most disputed elections in our history to become a beneficiary of its outcome.”
Atiku concluded by cautioning that the move does not align with efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic institutions or rebuild citizens’ faith in governance.
"This is not the path to strengthening our democracy or restoring public trust in our institutions,” he said.