New INEC Chair Promises Credible Elections That Earn Losers’ Respect
By Shalom Ikuvbogie
Nigeria’s new electoral umpire, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has pledged to restore faith in the ballot, saying elections under his watch will be so transparent that losers will have no choice but to congratulate winners.
Amupitan made the promise on Tuesday shortly before and after his confirmation by the Senate as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He succeeds Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who completed his 10-year tenure on October 7.
The new chairman told lawmakers that his first task would be to rebuild public confidence in the electoral process through strict accountability, audit of election technologies, and stronger inter-agency collaboration with bodies such as the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
“Our goal is to make elections so credible that even the loser will admit it was fair just as both sides accept a judge’s verdict when it is just,” he said during his screening.
Amupitan, a professor of law from Kogi State and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jos, also clarified that he was not part of President Bola Tinubu’s legal team at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, nor affiliated with any party’s legal defence group.
He told the Senate he would conduct a full audit of INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to identify glitches that damaged public trust in the 2023 elections. According to him, while the Supreme Court later clarified that IReV was not an electronic collation system, INEC failed to communicate that clearly before the polls.
“The IReV was meant to serve as a safeguard for transparency, not a replacement for manual collation. We will review and strengthen the system to guarantee credibility,” he said.
Amupitan said his administration would set up an Ethics and Compliance Committee within INEC to monitor staff conduct and ensure internal accountability. He also proposed the creation of an Electoral Offences Commission to investigate and prosecute electoral crimes, stressing that misconduct during past elections often went unpunished.
He added that INEC would introduce a whistleblower policy to encourage staff and citizens to report electoral malpractice without fear of retaliation, promising to back it with forensic investigations where necessary.
On logistics and election security, Amupitan vowed to work closely with the Joint Committee on Election Security to safeguard voters, materials, and personnel, particularly in high-risk areas.
“No voter will be left behind,” he said, noting that technology such as drones could be deployed to ensure timely delivery of materials across Nigeria’s vast terrain.
He further pledged to uphold financial discipline, saying all INEC funds would be used strictly for approved purposes, in line with the Public Procurement and Finance Acts.
“Our approach will rest on integrity, accountability, efficiency, and security,” he assured. “We will make elections truly reflect the will of the people.”
Meanwhile, the Senate on Tuesday stood down consideration of the proposed Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025, which seeks to reform the 2022 law and move presidential and governorship elections to November 2026. Lawmakers said the bill needed clearer details before advancing to second reading.
Read more; Senate Approves Amupitan As New INEC Chairman
The delay came after Senate President Godswill Akpabio questioned aspects of the proposed changes and recounted his own experience with electoral injustice in 2019, urging colleagues to fix “the right problems” in Nigeria’s voting laws.
He said reforms must focus on accountability and fairness, not just timelines, adding that the mistakes of past elections should guide future corrections.
The Senate resolved to revisit the bill after further consultation and clarification.
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