The Nigerian Senate has confirmed the appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and seasoned law academic, as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).<\/p>\n
Amupitan’s confirmation followed a rigorous two-hour screening on the Senate floor on Thursday, during which he addressed concerns about the integrity and independence of Nigeria\u2019s electoral system. His appointment marks the end of the tenure of Mahmood Yakubu, who officially stepped down on October 7, 2025, after leading the commission through two election cycles.<\/p>\n
Commitment to Electoral Integrity and Technology Reform<\/p>\n
During his screening, Amupitan, who currently serves as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jos, pledged to safeguard the independence of INEC and restore public confidence in the electoral process.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the 2023 general elections, he emphasized the pivotal role of technology in ensuring transparency but acknowledged that the misinterpretation of the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal had led to widespread confusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe what happened in 2023 was assumed as a glitch,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cBased on Supreme Court decisions, it became clear that IReV was never intended to be an electronic collation system. That was not well communicated before the election. The IReV was designed as a safeguard for comparison\u2014not a replacement for manual collation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amupitan also announced plans to initiate a comprehensive audit of INEC’s technological infrastructure to guarantee its reliability ahead of future elections. He assured lawmakers that he would collaborate with other relevant agencies to strengthen election credibility.<\/p>\n
Clarification on Political Neutrality<\/strong><\/p>\n Responding to growing public speculation, Amupitan categorically denied claims that he had been part of President Bola Tinubu\u2019s legal team during the post-election litigation in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cI was never part of President Bola Tinubu\u2019s legal team in court,\u201d he stated firmly. \u201cI was not a member of any team\u2014PDP, APC, or Labour.\u201d<\/p>\n The clarification comes amid heightened scrutiny over his perceived political neutrality. Some critics had mistakenly linked him to Tinubu\u2019s legal defense team\u2014a role that was, in fact, played by another SAN, Professor Taiwo Osipitan.<\/p>\n Senate Endorsement and Approval<\/strong><\/p>\n Following his remarks, Senator Shehu Buba (Bauchi South) moved a motion for the nominee to \u201ctake a bow and go,\u201d a tradition reserved for candidates of high distinction. The motion was seconded by Senator Olamilekan Solomon (Ogun West).<\/p>\n Senate President Godswill Akpabio subsequently conducted a voice vote, and Amupitan\u2019s nomination was unanimously approved by the chamber.<\/p>\n \u201cThe nominee answered questions from distinguished senators and took away written submissions as a working document on topical electoral issues,\u201d Akpabio noted.<\/p>\n \u201cAccordingly, the Senate hereby approves the nomination of Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).\u201d<\/p>\n A New Chapter for INEC<\/strong><\/p>\n With a blend of academic depth and legal expertise, Amupitan\u2019s appointment is seen as a pivotal moment for INEC as it prepares for upcoming off-cycle elections and broader electoral reforms.<\/p>\n As he steps into the role amid high expectations and public scrutiny, Amupitan\u2019s leadership will be tested on how effectively he can implement technological reforms, assert INEC\u2019s independence, and rebuild trust in Nigeria\u2019s democratic process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Nigerian Senate has confirmed the appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and seasoned law academic, as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Amupitan’s confirmation followed a rigorous two-hour screening on the Senate floor on Thursday, during which he addressed concerns about the integrity and independence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":95370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,7],"tags":[7351,154,7366],"class_list":["post-95477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jobs","category-news","tag-amupitan","tag-inec","tag-osopitan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}