The Senate has confirmed Amupitan as INEC chairman.
Glamtush reports that the Senate has confirmed Joash Amupitan as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This news platform understands that Amupitan, a professor of law, was confirmed by the upper chamber after his screening on Thursday.
His confirmation came after over two hours of questioning by senators, who pressed him on how he plans to restore credibility to Nigeria’s electoral process and implement meaningful reforms within the commission.
He was accompanied to the chamber by the Governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo, and other dignitaries.
At about 12:50 p.m., the nominee was ushered into the Senate chamber by the Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Abubakar Lado, and was already seated ahead of the commencement of the exercise.
Amupitan was allowed into the hallowed chamber after the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), moved that Order 12 be set aside to allow visitors into the chamber, and he was seconded by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South).
Senate President Godswill Akpabio welcomed Amupitan, his family members, and well-wishers to the Red Chamber, commending them for their presence.
Before introducing himself to the Senators for the question and answer session to take off, Akpabio disclosed to his colleagues that the nominee had been cleared by the office of the National Security Adviser after vetting.
According to Akpabio, the office of the Department of State Services had also cleared him.
The Senate President also said that the Office of the Inspector-General of Police, having done a fingerprint search on him, cleared him and said that he had no criminal records with the police.
The screening exercise commenced at about 12:55 p.m. following Akpabio’s opening remarks, during which he outlined the procedures to be followed by the lawmakers in considering the nominee’s credentials.
The screening session focused on Amupitan’s vision for credible elections, his plans for institutional reforms within INEC, and measures to deepen the use of technology in Nigeria’s electoral process.
Following his confirmation by the Senate, Amupitan will oversee preparations for upcoming off-cycle governorship elections and lay the groundwork for the 2027 general elections.
The president’s letter conveying Amupitan’s nomination was read on the floor of the Senate by Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Jos, Amupitan is widely regarded for his expertise in constitutional and international law.
The 58-year-old don was nominated by President Bola Tinubu to succeed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and received formal endorsement from the National Council of State last week.
Amupitan becomes the sixth substantive Chairman of INEC, succeeding Mahmood Yakubu, who has officially concluded his tenure as the INEC boss.
The chairman-designate pushed for electoral reforms, saying that Nigeria deserves elections where the loser will congratulate the winner.
Amupitan said he would examine the Electoral Act to strengthen the credibility of Nigerian elections.
According to him, there are inconsistencies in the timeline of elections in Nigeria, a situation he says can be improved.
He stated that credible elections would restore voters’ confidence.
“So, we’re going to see how an election is credible so that the loser will come and congratulate the winner and say, ‘You won fairly and well’.
“So if we can do that, it’s just like a judge convicting a person, sentencing him to death, and he (convict) says, ‘Well done, because I believe I’ve gotten justice,’” the professor said.
