By Paul Ejime
At his Senate screening on Thursday, 16th October, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and the sixth Chairman-designate of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), showcased an impressive resume and promised to deliver elections with integrity.
Like in many political ecosystems, elections are a source of political conflicts and haemorrhaging divisions in Africa’s most populous nation with an estimated 230 million people and more than 90 million registered voters.
Most of the governorship and presidential elections since the country’s return to democracy in 1999 after prolonged military rule were decided by the courts, resulting in lack of public confidence in the electoral process, the successive electoral umpires and the judiciary, with the courts accused of inconsistency and contradictions in their judgments.
Answering questions during his two-hour confirmation hearing in the Red Chamber of Nigeria’s bicameral National Assembly in Abuja, Amupitan, a professor of law, identified several obstacles to credible elections in the country, including logistical problems, funding delays, and a lack of clarity in the electoral law.
He said, “…although it has been legislated that funds should be released (to INEC) a year before elections, you find out that this does not come in time; and this still makes the institution financially constrained.”
He promised to work with the “National Assembly, to ensure INEC’s independence.”
Amupitan also noted that INEC relied on “third-party” private transporters to move electoral officials and materials during elections. Apart from the need for adequate security, he said, there have been instances where personnel on election duties were “dropped at polling stations” without arrangements for their transportation back to base.
On the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) for electronic voting and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), he said, although these technological tools were designed to improve the process and electoral integrity, “there was no clarity” on their application during the 2023 elections, and promised to audit the “glitch” reported with the tools.
Amupitan also denied media reports that he was a member of the legal defence team of then-candidate and current Nigerian President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his ruling APC party, during legal challenges to his victory at the Election Petition Courts.
The performance of States’ Electoral Commissions and the State governors’ control over the conduct and results of Local Council elections also came up, with the new INEC promising to address the problem by working with stakeholders, including Parliament, on electoral reforms and constitutional amendments.
However, he said the suggestion that INEC should take over the conduct of elections in the 774 Local Councils could overburden the National Commission.
Amupitan also promised to undertake an “aggressive voter education” for an “informed electorate” to curb voter apathy, and with the possibility of using drones to access difficult-to-reach localities, as part of the “no voter should be left behind” motto of his leadership.
He also pledged to consider the establishment of a “whistleblower” mechanism; an Electoral Offences Commission, and ensure fiscal responsibility with an Ethics and Compliance Committee to monitor internal conduct.
In contrast to the commendations he received in the Red Chamber and pro-government commentators, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has dismissed Amupitan’s screening process as a “travesty.”
The association, in a statement, accused the Senate of bypassing its Committee on Electoral Matters, “a violation of the Standing Rules,” adding: “The Senate has become a rubber-stamp.”
The HURIWA called Amupitan’s confirmation a “political calculation… and …part of a larger plot by the executive to manipulate the 2027 general election.”
“The future of Nigeria lies in the hands of its youth. If they stand up, this attempt to manipulate our democracy will not succeed,” the association said, adding that democratic institutions, including the legislature and judiciary, “have been captured.”
President Tinubu nominated Prof. Amupitan on 8th October to succeed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, as INEC Chairman, a day after Yakubu handed over to the longest serving National Electoral Commissioner, May Agbamuche-Mbu to serve as acting Chairman.
The President described Amupitan, 58, as “apolitical and a man of integrity.”
Until his appointment, the new INEC chief was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), University of Jos, in Nigeria’s middle-belt, where he also served as a Professor of Law. He specialised in Evidence, Company, Corporate Governance, and Privatisation Law, with a PhD from the University of Jos, in Nigeria’s middle-belt.
He is a member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and served as Dean, Faculty of Law, Chairman, Committee of Deans and Directors, and Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Osun State, in western Nigeria. His publications include Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013) and Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008).
As INEC Chairman from 2015, Yakubu oversaw two general elections in 2019 and 2023, as well as several off-cycle governorship and legislative polls.
The Commission, under his leadership, introduced major electoral reforms, including BIVAS and IReV. INEC also expanded polling units for the first time in 25 years, increasing the number from 119,974 to 176,846, thereby improving voter access and reducing overcrowding.
Beyond technology, Yakubu’s era was also marked by reforms aimed at professionalising election administration and improving participation.
Two new publications by INEC on Election Management in Nigeria: 2015-2025 and Innovations in Electoral Technology: 2015-2025, credited his leadership with “prioritising the inclusion of persons with disabilities (PwDs), internally displaced persons (IDPs), women, and youths through targeted policies and assistive materials such as braille ballot guides, magnifying lenses, and priority voting for vulnerable groups.”
Yakubu is also praised for repositioning the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), steering the umbrella body of electoral commissions in West Africa towards impact transformation, especially as President of its Governing Board from 2017 to 2019, and facilitating the establishment of the Network’s Permanent Secretariat in Abuja.
INEC, under his watch, strengthened partnerships with international and regional electoral bodies on peer support and knowledge and experience sharing in election technology, with INEC providing some ECONEC members with the technical backing and organising mutually beneficial international seminars/workshops
Despite the achievements, Yakubu, in a foreword to the INEC publications, acknowledged that the Commission’s work faced many challenges, including persistent insecurity, electoral violence, vote-buying, multiple court injunctions, and logistics disruptions.
For instance, he said that over 50 INEC offices were attacked between 2019 and 2023, adding that the Commission, however, responded “with innovation, resilience and reform.”
The Nigerian Constitution empowers INEC to serve “as an independent and effective Electoral Management Body (EMB) committed to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections for sustainable democracy in Nigeria.” Its other functions are outlined in Section 15, Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended), as well as the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended) and Electoral Act 2022.
They include “supervision of all elections to the offices of the President and Vice-President, the Governor and Deputy Governor of a State, and the membership of the Senate, the House of Representatives and the House of Assembly of each state of the federation,” and “registering political parties in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and Act of the National Assembly.”
The Commission is also charged “to monitor the organisation and operation of the political parties, including their finances; conventions, congresses and party primaries; arrange for the annual examination and auditing of the funds and accounts of political parties, and publish a report on such examination and audit for public information; and conduct the registration of persons qualified to vote and prepare, maintain and revise the register of voters for any election under this constitution.”
Furthermore, INEC is required to “monitor political campaigns and provide rules and regulations which shall govern the political parties; conduct voter and civic education; promote knowledge of sound democratic election processes; and conduct any referendum required to be conducted pursuant to the provision of the 1999 Constitution or any other law or Act of the National Assembly.”
From experience, beyond assurances and a sound resume, the head of Nigeria’s electoral umpire requires a strong will and an unflappable courage to withstand daunting political pressures to deliver on the job. A critical mindset and behaviour change is also needed, coupled with collective commitment and determination by all stakeholders, particularly politicians, to play by the rules.
Paul Ejime is a Media/Communications Specialist and Global Affairs Analyst.
