President Bola Tinubu has written the Senate, seeking the screening and subsequent confirmation of Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) as new National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for confirmation.
By Emma Ogbuehi
President Bola Tinubu has written the Senate, seeking the screening and subsequent confirmation of Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) as new National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for confirmation. With the move by the President, the University of Jos Professor of Law, is set to be confirmed for the post despite muffled protestations in some quarters.
The President, in a letter read on Tuesday by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, asked for expeditious consideration and approval by the Senate.
Senator Akpabio accordingly forwarded the request to the committee of the whole for legislative action as soon as practicable.
The request by the President comes on the heels of insinuations surrounding the educational career of Amupitan and other issues. Some media platforms and commentators have raised issues with Amupitan’s age for entering higher institution and progression.
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Civil society group, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has demanded a thorough screening of the nominee. RULAAC, in a statement by its executive director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, urged the Senate to religiously screen the nominee and allow for inputs from the public.
The National Council of State had on Thursday, October 9, approved the nomination of Professor Amupitan, SAN, from Kogi State in the North-Central region, as the new Chairman of INEC.
The decision was announced in a statement by Presidential Spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, who said President Bola Tinubu presented Amupitan’s name to the Council to fill the vacancy created by the exit of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who served from 2015 until October 2025.
According to the statement, President Tinubu informed the Council that Amupitan was apolitical and deeply committed to integrity and fairness.
“Council members unanimously supported the nomination, with Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo describing Amupitan as a man of integrity. In compliance with the constitution, President Tinubu will now send Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening,” the statement added.
Born on April 25, 1967, in Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Professor Amupitan, 58, is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos (UNIJOS), where he also serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration). He is an alumnus of the same university.
A legal scholar with specialisation in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance, and Privatisation Law, Amupitan earned the prestigious Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) title in September 2014.
After his early education, he attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin (1982–1984) before obtaining his LLB from the University of Jos in 1987. He was called to the Bar in 1988 and later earned an LLM (1993) and a PhD (2007) from UNIJOS.
He began his academic career in 1989 following his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation, and has since held several leadership positions within the university, including Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008–2014), Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012–2014), and Head of Public Law (2006–2008).
Beyond academia, Amupitan is Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Osun State. He also serves on the boards of Integrated Dairies Limited, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and the Council of Legal Education.
A prolific author, Amupitan has written extensively on corporate and evidence law, with works including Corporate Governance: Models and Principles (2008), Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008), Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013), Principles of Company Law (2013), and An Introduction to the Law of Trust in Nigeria (2014).
President Tinubu, in another request through a different letter, sought confirmation of the Senate for the appointments of Mrs Ayo Omidiran as new Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) and 28 others as Federal Commissioners, one of whom is Dr Ibrahim Abdullahi from Kwara State.
