Senate confirms Joash Amupitan as INEC chairman

The senate has confirmed the appointment of Joash Amupitan, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Amupitan’s confirmation followed a two-hour screening by the upper legislative chamber on Thursday, during which he pledged to safeguard the independence and integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process.

Speaking on lessons from the 2023 general election, the law professor noted the importance of technology in enhancing transparency.

He, however, noted that misinterpretations of the role of the INEC result viewing (IReV) portal created confusion.

“I believe what happened in 2023 was assumed as a glitch,” he said.

“Before we went into the election, my own understanding, based on the review of the decisions of the Supreme Court, we found that there was no clarity as to the purpose of IReV.

“Not until the Supreme Court came out to say that IReV was not an electronic collation system, and that position was not properly brought out before the election.

“The IReV was supposed to be a safeguard for comparison, because the laws made by this distinguished Senate did not do away with manual collation.

“However, IReV was supposed to provide some guarantee for checks and balances.”

Amupitan added that he would order a comprehensive audit of INEC’s technological infrastructure to ensure reliability ahead of future elections.

He also promised to work with other agencies to ensure the integrity of elections.

Following his presentation, Shehu Buba, senator representing Bauchi south, moved a motion for the nominee to “take a bow and go”, a gesture traditionally extended to distinguished nominees. The motion was seconded by Olamilekan Solomon of Ogun west.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio subsequently put the confirmation to a voice vote, and the lawmakers unanimously endorsed Amupitan’s appointment.

“The nominee answered questions from distinguished senators and took away written submissions as a working document on topical electoral issues,” Akpabio said while announcing the confirmation.

“Accordingly, the Senate hereby approves the nomination of Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

Amupitan, a respected academic and legal practitioner, succeeds Mahmood Yakubu, who concluded his tenure on October 7, 2025, amid intense national debates on electoral reforms.