Senate confirms Professor Amupitan as INEC chairman

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

Amupitan, a professor of Law, was confirmed as the INEC boss after hours of screening by lawmakers in Abuja on Thursday, October 16, 2025.

President Bola Tinubu had formally written to the Senate, seeking Amupitan’s confirmation as the new chairman of the electoral umpire.

The request was read on the floor of the red chamber by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Thursday.

Amupitan, a Kogi-born legal luminary and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at University of Jos, pledged to work with relevant agencies to improve the electoral process.

He succeeds Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who had served as INEC chairman for 10 years.

Amupitan pledged to conduct a thorough audit of the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal to identify and address the technical glitches that eroded public confidence during the 2023 general elections.

He said the IReV and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were designed to uphold the integrity of elections, similar to practices in other democracies across the world.

“I believe what happened in 2023 was simply a glitch,” he said.

INEC chairman-nominee Amupitan: I wasn’t part of Tinubu’s legal team

The law professor explained that before the election, there was ambiguity regarding the specific purpose of the IReV platform.

However, he noted that subsequent Supreme Court rulings clarified that the IReV was not intended as an electronic collation system — an interpretation that was not properly communicated by INEC prior to the polls.

Amupitan added: “The IReV was supposed to serve as a safeguard for comparison because the laws made by this distinguished Senate did not abolish manual collation.

“It was meant to provide an extra layer of checks and balances.”

Amupitan said that, if confirmed, he would lead an independent audit of the IReV to determine its operational challenges and assess whether it is currently capable of meeting Nigeria’s electoral demands.

“I have to audit the system, if I’m given the opportunity, to see what is actually wrong and whether we have what it takes as it is now,” he stated.

He added that improving election technology would require collaboration between INEC and other key agencies, including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and relevant service providers.

“It is not just INEC’s responsibility. Other agencies must work together to ensure we deliver technology Nigerians can trust,” Amupitan added.

The Star