Amupitan carries baggage that may be bad for 2027 polls — Atiku’s camp
Paul Ibe, media aide to the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has renewed concerns over the neutrality of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, warning that unresolved allegations surrounding the electoral body could undermine confidence in the 2027 general elections.
In a statement on Friday, Ibe revisited allegations that surfaced in April regarding the INEC chairman’s alleged connection to a partisan X (formerly Twitter) account that reportedly made political comments and celebrated victories of the ruling APC.
According to him, “In April, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan, was exposed in a web of digital imprints that allegedly suggested that he may have operated a partisan X (formerly Twitter) account. That account had made political comments and celebrated victory of the ruling APC.”
Ibe criticised INEC’s response to the allegations, noting that the commission had cleared its chairman after what it described as an internal review and forensic digital investigation.
“Before we could spell Amupitan, INEC released a statement clearing its Chairman of any involvement. The electoral umpire predicated the so-called clearance on an internal review and forensic digital investigation by an ‘independent’ cybersecurity expert,” he said.
He argued that the investigation lacked credibility because it was commissioned by the commission itself.
“Many Nigerians had questioned (and still continue to question) the validity of the clearance considering that Amupitan’s INEC was a Judge in its own case. The probe was commissioned and paid for by INEC itself, meaning that the process lacked true impartiality,” he said.
Ibe further alleged that the electoral body failed to disclose the identity of the cybersecurity experts involved in the review.
“Moreover, INEC did not publicly disclose the identity of the independent cybersecurity firm or individuals who conducted the investigation. Truth be told, there was nothing independent about the independent investigation of the allegation of partisanship against Amupitan,” he stated.
He also linked the controversy to the removal of names associated with the David Mark-led executive of the ADC from the INEC portal.
“Add that to the role of Amupitan in removing the names of the David Mark-led exco of the @ADCNig from the @inecnigeria portal, then you will come to the inevitable conclusion that Amupitan remains a danger to the opposition parties.”
Ibe also raised concerns over recent allegations involving Lere Olayinka, an aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
“Now, with the 2027 elections just about 8 months away, Lere Olayinka, aide to Nyesom Wike, Tinubu’s Man Friday and Fixer is at the centre of a storm over allegations that he may have worked with yet-to-be identified INEC officials to illegally obtain data of a prospective aspirant in the NDC primaries,” Ibe said.
He added, “We are hearing that Lere had been grilled by the Nigerian Police. Knowing the modus operandi of Wike and the Tinubu-led administration, the aide of the FCT Minister may have been served grilled chicken and chips and not ‘grilled’ contrary to media reports.”
Ibe warned that failure to thoroughly investigate the alleged breach could have wider implications for the conduct of future elections.
“If we do not get to the bottom of this alleged criminal breach of data, we may be inadvertently be enabling what may turn out to be a large scale breach of data in the 2027 elections. We must never forget that data is life,” Ibe said.
He further argued that concerns about the INEC chairman’s alleged partisanship, combined with the data breach allegations, could pose a significant threat to electoral integrity.
“We are dealing with an INEC Chairman who is suspected to be partisan. When you add that to the #LereOlayinkaINECDataGate, which may actually be a dress rehearsal, what you may have is a scenario that may be worse than the enabled glitch of the 2023 election, which targeted only the results of the presidential election,” he said.
Ibe insisted that Prof. Amupitan’s continued leadership of the electoral commission raises serious concerns ahead of the next general election.
“Prof. Joash Amupitan may have strategically removed himself from public consciousness, but everything still points in the direction that the current Chairman of INEC carries a lot of baggage that will make him bad for the 2027 General Elections,” he said.
