The Senate has confirmed Joash Ojo Amupitan, a senior advocate, as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Amupitan’s confirmation followed his screening at the Senate on Thursday, October 16, where lawmakers took turns to grill him.
In his submissions, Amupitan vowed to ensure INEC’s independence.
He also pledged to undertake a comprehensive audit of the Commission’s operations, with a focus on logistics failures recorded during the 2023 general elections.
He said the review would identify operational challenges that affect the conduct of elections and help restore public confidence in the electoral system.
He told the lawmakers that part of the audit would involve examining what went wrong with the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) during the 2023 presidential election. “We must find out what happened and why the confidence of many Nigerians was shaken,” he said.
Citing a Supreme Court judgment, Amupitan explained that the IReV platform was not part of the official result collation system of the Commission. “The purpose of introducing BVAS and IReV was to ensure election integrity. A lot of people thought IReV was part of collation, but the Supreme Court has clarified that it is not,” he noted.
He assured the Senate that he would strengthen the use of technology and logistics management within the Commission.
“My wife served as a collection officer. I had to bring a generator to assist because there was no light. If we want to do it well, we must provide the necessary logistics and transport support,” he said.
Amupitan also called for the establishment of an electoral offences commission to handle cases of malpractice, stating that “INEC does not currently have the capacity to investigate and prosecute offenders.”
After the Committee of the Whole, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, asked if the confirmation was a true reflection of the House, and the ‘ayes’ had it.
Akpabio said he was approved without any dissenting voice and challenged him to discharge his duty conscientiously.
Earlier, Akpabio announced that Amupitan had been cleared by the National Security Adviser, the State Security Services (SSS), and the Inspector-General of Police, who confirmed that he had no criminal record.
Akpabio, while welcoming the nominee and his family to the chamber, recalled his experience during the 2019 elections, saying, “I was cheated in the election, and we went to court. The court annulled the result and ordered prosecution of the electoral officer, but instead of prosecuting the INEC commissioner, they prosecuted the returning officer.”
The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), had earlier moved that Order 12 be suspended to admit the nominee and his entourage into the chamber. The motion was seconded by the Minority Leader, Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South). Amupitan was accompanied by Kogi State Governor Ahmed Ododo and senior officials from the University of Jos, including the vice chancellor.
President Bola Tinubu had on Tuesday, October 14, transmitted Amupitan’s name to the Senate for confirmation, following the approval of the National Council of State during its meeting at the Presidential Villa. The Council, chaired by the president, described Amupitan as a man of integrity and experience.
Amupitan succeeds Mahmood Yakubu, who stepped down on October 7 after completing a decade-long tenure marked by major electoral reforms, including BVAS) and IReV portal.
The ICIR reported that despite these reforms, the 2023 general elections were marred by widespread logistical challenges, poor result transmission, and low public trust in the Commission’s processes. Election observers and civil society organisations have repeatedly called for institutional restructuring and accountability within INEC.
Amupitan, a professor of Law at the University of Jos and former Dean of its Faculty of Law, hails from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State. He has over three decades of experience in academia and legal practice, specialising in constitutional, company, and corporate governance law.
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