• From left: Agbamuche-Mbu, and Mahmood Yakubu during the handover ceremony

Professor Mahmood Yakubu has stepped down as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Yakubu on Monday handed over to a National Commissioner of the commission, May Agbamuche-Mbu, who steps in in acting capacity pending the appointment of a substantive chairman.

Meanwhile , Yakubu was first appointed in November 2015 as the 14th chairman of the commission for an initial term of five years.

The appointment, which was renewed in 2020, has now expired due to the passage of time.

President Tinubu thanked Professor Yakubu for his services to the nation and his efforts to sustain Nigeria’s democracy, particularly through the organisation of free and fair elections throughout his two-term tenure.

In recognition of Yakubu’s dedicated service to the nation, President Tinubu has bestowed on him the honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger(CON).

President Tinubu also directed that Professor Yakubu should hand over to the most senior national commissioner, May Agbamuche-Mbu, who will direct the affairs of the commission until the completion of the process to appoint a successor.

In the letter dated October 3, 2025, Professor Yakubu thanked the President for the opportunity to serve the nation as chairman of the commission since 2015.

A British Airways (BA) flight from London to Abuja was forced to make an emergency diversion to Barcelona, Spain, after Prof. Osita Obierika, died mid-air.

Obierika, a retired Air Vice Marshal (AVM) of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), was a former Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Training Command, Kaduna and a directing staff at the National Defence College, Abuja.

It was gathered that the aircraft departed London’s Heathrow Airport at 11pm on Sunday, October 5 and was to arrive Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by 5am on Monday.

However, around 1:30am, the pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted to El Prat Airport in Barcelona, Spain.

The Octogenarian was said to have been returning to Nigeria from the United Kingdom where he was being treated for cancer.

Fire has engulfed a section of the Rivers State Secretariat Complex in Port Harcourt destroying some property.

Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Information, Dr Honour Sirawoo, confirmed the incident saying fire fighters intervened immediately to stop the inferno.

It was gathered that the inferno started at the ground floor of one of the tall buildings popularly called the Podium after the close of work and spread to the office of the newly constituted Rivers State Pension Board.

Sources said the fire started around 4.00pm and was reportedly caused by an electrical fault, though there was no casualty.

Rivers Head of Service, Dr Inyinge Brown, confirmed that no life was lost saying she was happy that the recently rehabilitated State Fire Service was on ground to quench the fire.