About The Chairman

 

May Agbamuche-Mbu is currently the Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, having taken over the reins of affairs upon the end of tenure of Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu on the 7th of October, 2025.

She is a seasoned legal practitioner with over three decades of experience working with diverse clients in both the Public and Private sector. May Agbamuche-Mbu hails from Delta State though she was born in Kano State where she attended St. Louis Secondary School, Bompai, Kano. She thereafter proceeded to the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and graduated in 1984 with an LLB.

After her Call to the Nigerian Bar in 1985, May Agbamuche-Mbu attended the College of Law, London and qualified as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. She has an LLM with specialisation in Commercial and Corporate Law from Queen Mary and Westfield College, London and completed two Postgraduate Degree programs in International Dispute Resolution and International Business Law respectively.

May Agbamuche-Mbu is also an expert in Alternative Dispute Resolution and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of the United Kingdom, Nigeria Branch where she has served as Secretary to the Institute.

Between March, 2010 and November, 2011, May Agbamuche-Mbu served on the Presidential Projects Assessment Committee (PPAC) as the sole Solicitor, evaluating an extensive Nationwide portfolio of major unfinished public projects in Nigeria and in March, 2016, she was further appointed a member of the Ministerial Committee set up to prepare ‘The Road Map for the Solid Minerals Sector’.

Before her appointment as a National Commissioner for INEC, May Agbamuche-Mbu was the managing Partner of the Law Firm, Norfolk Partners in Lagos, and also the Editor of THISDAY LAWYER, a weekly legal pullout in one of the Nation’s most widely read Newspapers. From January, 2014 to September, 2016, May Agbamuche-Mbu published 120 legal editorials under her column ‘LEGAL EAGLE’. Her consistent exposure to public affairs and related projects put her in a unique position to build a reputable body of commentary and expert opinion in many specialised areas. Her work remains a source of public advocacy on many National and International issues.

May Agbamuche-Mbu was first appointed as National Commissioner, INEC from 5th December, 2016 to 5th December, 2021 during which she supervised Edo, Bayelsa and Rivers States and chaired the Legal Services, Clearance and Complaints Committee (LSC&CC).

May Agbamuche-Mbu was thereafter re-appointed for a second term on 23rd February, 2022. She currently supervises Akwa – Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers States and is the Chairperson, Legal Services, Clearance and Complaints Committee (LSC&CC) and member of various other Committees.