Nigeria’s newly appointed Ambassador to the State of Qatar, Mahmood Yakubu, has arrived in Doha to officially assume his diplomatic duties.

Details of his arrival, made available to journalists on Thursday in Abuja, showed that Mr Yakubu was accorded a warm reception on Wednesday by officials of the Qatari government and members of the African diplomatic corps.

The immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was received at Hamad International Airport by the Director of the Protocol Department at Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahim Abdullah Fakhro.

Also on hand to welcome him was a delegation of 13 African ambassadors resident in Doha.

Among those present were the Secretary-General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), Philip Mshelbila, and the President of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) in Qatar, Mr Michael Ihekwaba.

The introduction of the African envoys was led by the Ambassador of Guinea and President of the Bureau of the African Group of Ambassadors to Qatar, Amb. Thierno Sow.

The delegation comprised ambassadors and heads of mission from Guinea, Algeria, Burundi, Morocco, Tanzania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Togo, Benin, and the Central African Republic.

Mr Yakubu also held brief interactions with several diplomats, including the Ambassadors of Mali, Dedeou Sidibe; Senegal, Cheikh Tidiane Sall; and Tanzania, Habibu Mohammed.

Following the airport reception, he met with staff of the Nigerian Embassy in Doha.

Mr  brings decades of experience in academia, public administration, and governance to his new diplomatic assignment.

Before his appointment by President Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s envoy to Qatar, he completed a two-term tenure as Chairman of INEC, serving from November 2015 to October 2025.

During his time at the electoral commission, he supervised the conduct of the 2019 and 2023 general elections, as well as several off-cycle governorship elections.

Prior to his appointment at INEC, Mr Yakubu served as Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), having been appointed to the position in 2007 by former President Umaru Yar’Adua.

At TETFund, he initiated and implemented a number of infrastructure and academic support programmes aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s higher education institutions.

As ambassador, Mr Yakubu is expected to leverage his extensive administrative and leadership experience to strengthen bilateral relations between Nigeria and Qatar, especially in the areas of energy, trade, investment, and diaspora engagement. 

(NAN)