Senate Confirms Joash Amupitan As INEC Chairman

The Senate has confirmed Joash Amupitan as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Joash Amupitan, a law professor, received confirmation from the upper chamber following his screening on Thursday.

During the screening, Amupitan pledged to uphold and protect the independence of INEC in carrying out its duties.

Amupitan, who spoke on lessons from the 2023 general election, highlighted the role of technology in promoting transparency but noted that misunderstandings about INEC’s results-viewing portal (IReV) caused confusion.

He said, “I believe what happened in 2023 was assumed as a glitch. 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 also said he would conduct a thorough audit of INEC’s technological systems to ensure reliability for future elections and promised to collaborate with other agencies to uphold the integrity of the electoral process.

After his presentation, Senator Shehu Buba of Bauchi South moved a motion to honor the nominee, which was seconded by Olamilekan Solomon of Ogun West.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio then put the confirmation to a voice vote, and lawmakers unanimously approved 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 distinguished legal scholar and practitioner, succeeds Mahmood Yakubu, who completed his tenure on October 7, 2025, amid ongoing discussions on electoral reforms in the country.

This comes barely 48 hours after President Bola Tinubu recently sent a letter to the Senate, requesting the confirmation of Professor Joash Amupitan as the new INEC Chairman.