13 African Ambassadors and SG GECF Welcome Former INEC Chair Yakubu to Doha

Professor Mahmood Yakubu, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has officially taken up his post as Nigeria’s ambassador to Qatar.

According to a statement issued yesterday by Rabiu Ibrahim, Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Yakubu was welcomed at the airport by 13 African ambassadors and by His Excellency, Ambassador Ibrahim Yousif Abdullah Fakhro, Director of the Protocol Department of Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The statement also noted that Dr Philip Mshelbila, Secretary‑General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), and Mr Michael Ihekwaba, President of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) in Qatar, were among those who formally received Yakubu at the airport.

 Yakubu was among the political and career diplomats appointed recently by President Bola Tinubu.

He brings to his new diplomatic assignment a distinguished record of public service, including his tenure as INEC Chairman from 2015 to 2025, during which he oversaw major electoral reforms that strengthened Nigeria’s electoral process, enhanced the use of technology in elections, improved voter accreditation systems, and deepened public confidence in democratic institutions.

His appointment to Qatar, the statement said, reflects the federal government’s confidence in his leadership, experience, and capacity to advance Nigeria’s diplomatic, economic, and bilateral interests in one of the Middle East’s most strategic nations.

The statement emphasised that Yakubu is expected to further strengthen relations between Nigeria and Qatar, particularly in trade, investment, energy, education, and people‑to‑people exchanges.