President Bola Tinubu on Thursday explained that his choice of Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission was based on his apolitical stance, integrity and impeccable record of service.
Is Amupitan Appointment About Political Zone or a Strategy for Tinubu?
Recently, President Tinubu had directed Prof. Yakubu, the Former INEC Chairman to proceed on leave ahead of the expiration of his tenure.
Undisclosed Sources described the move as a response to what they termed Yakubu’s “last-minute betrayal” of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government that appointed him.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma reportedly met with President Tinubu shortly after the president returned from a 12-day working vacation.
Alleging that Yakubu’s efforts to register new political parties toward the end of his tenure had disrupted Tinubu’s preparations for a second term.
Sources told SaharaReporters that the governor also claimed that Yakubu was covertly supporting a candidate in the Imo State governorship election.
Following this briefing, Tinubu reportedly requested that Yakubu suspend all official duties and proceed on terminal leave.
Yakubu was first appointed INEC Chairman on October 21, 2015, by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, succeeding acting chairperson Amina Zakari.
Following Senate confirmation on October 29, 2015, he was sworn in on November 9, 2015.
After completing his first term in November 2020, Yakubu was nominated for a second and final term by President Buhari, confirmed by the Senate, and sworn in on December 1, 2020
Prof Yakubu tenure was cut at the last minute to end his tenure
Recently, Magazine Afrique reported that Tinubu set to appoint Prof. Amupitan who is a long term lawyer of Dino Melaye.
Not long after, President Tinubu, Announced Prof. Joash Amupitan as the New INEC Chairman, telling the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi, North-Central state, nominated to occupy the position and is apolitical,” a statement by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, quoted him as saying
The President spoke at the State House, Abuja, during the meeting of the National Council of State, which unanimously endorsed the nomination of Amupitan to succeed Professor Mahmood Yakubu, whose decade-long tenure as INEC Chairman ended on Tuesday.
Tinubu told council members that Amupitan, a professor of law from Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria, is the first person from the state to be nominated for the top electoral job.
Council members, including serving and former leaders, backed the nomination, describing the professor as a man of proven integrity.
Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, said Amupitan’s track record “reflects a deep commitment to justice, knowledge, and national service.
”Following the council’s approval, the President is expected to transmit Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening and confirmation in line with constitutional provisions.
Aged 58, Amupitan hails from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
A professor of law at the University of Jos, Plateau State, he is currently the institution’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) and also serves as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.
He obtained his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in law from the University of Jos, after earlier studies at the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.
Called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988, Amupitan has built an extensive academic and administrative career spanning over three decades.
He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2014 and has written extensively on company law, corporate governance, and evidence law.
His published works include Corporate Governance: Models and Principles (2008), Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008), Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013), and Principles of Company Law (2013).
Beyond academia, Amupitan has served on several boards, including Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and the Council of Legal Education.
He was also a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja, between 1996 and 2004.
The Kogi-born scholar, described by colleagues as “a jurist of quiet influence,” is married with four children.
When confirmed by the Senate, Amupitan will become Nigeria’s 15th INEC chairman.
