Why INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan Must Resign For Impartial & Transparent Electoral Process - Ik Ogbonna.

 

Joash Ojo Amupitan.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the cornerstone of Nigeria’s democracy. Its chairman must embody absolute impartiality — not just in word, but in verifiable deed. Yet, barely months into his tenure, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, finds himself engulfed in a credibility crisis that strikes at the heart of electoral integrity. Freshly resurfaced evidence of overt partisanship from his past, coupled with a denial that forensic and digital records increasingly contradict, leaves only one honourable path: immediate resignation.

 

In March and April 2023 — during the heat of the presidential election campaign — an X (formerly Twitter) account bearing Prof. Amupitan’s full name posted content that left no room for ambiguity. On 18 March 2023, the account replied to a post by APC National Youth Leader Dayo Israel with the unambiguous declaration: “Victory is sure.” Days later, it responded to criticism of the APC with the inflammatory remark: “They are evil in the 21st century.” On 25 April 2023, after a post celebrating President Bola Tinubu’s reception at Abuja airport, the account simply replied: “Asiwaju.”

These were not neutral observations. “Victory is sure” was a direct echo of APC campaign rhetoric. “Asiwaju” was (and remains) a partisan rallying cry reserved for Tinubu loyalists. The tone was not academic or detached — it was celebratory, combative, and unmistakably pro-APC. At the time, Prof. Amupitan was a respected professor of law at the University of Jos and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He was not yet INEC chairman, but the posts reveal a clear political posture that directly conflicts with the oath of neutrality required of the nation’s electoral umpire. 

INEC and the chairman’s media team have responded with a categorical denial. In multiple statements, the Commission insists that Prof. Amupitan “does not own or operate any personal account on X,” has “never engaged in partisan commentary,” and that the entire episode is “baseless,” a “total fabrication,” and “a figment of the imagination of its purveyors.” The official line is that any account using his name is fake, and Nigerians should disregard it.

This is a clean, lawyerly defence — but it collides head-on with mounting digital evidence.

Independent fact-checks and technical analysis have established clear links between the partisan account and Prof. Amupitan:

- Digital archiving confirms the account’s existence: Records on platforms such as the Wayback Machine show an active account under the handle linked to “Joash Amupitan” during the exact period the partisan posts were made. These archives are timestamped and publicly verifiable.

- Email and phone verification trails: Multiple reports, including a fact-check by Daily Trust, have traced the account creation to a Yahoo email address and phone number publicly associated with Prof. Amupitan. Account creation on X requires access to verification codes sent to the registered email or phone — making impersonation without the owner’s knowledge or consent technically implausible.

- AI and metadata analysis: Independent examinations (including earlier verification by AI tools) have matched the account’s metadata and email linkage to the chairman. Image and thread integrity checks on the archived posts returned high confidence levels (up to 88%) that the content was not fabricated or AI-generated after the fact.

- No evidence of handle recycling or sophisticated impersonation: Critics of the denial point out that the idea of an unknown actor “magically” creating an account in 2023 using the exact credentials of a man who would be appointed INEC chairman in 2025 defies logic. The account’s activity aligns with known public details of Amupitan’s life and professional profile at the time.

INEC has rightly announced it will engage independent forensic experts and security agencies. However, the Commission’s simultaneous dismissal of screenshots, archives, and email linkages as “unreliable” while the investigation is ongoing only deepens public scepticism. When the weight of available digital forensics already points one way, continued insistence on a total denial risks looking like damage control rather than transparency.

Prof. Amupitan’s past tweets are not ancient history — they were posted less than three years ago, during the same election cycle whose outcome many Nigerians still question. An electoral umpire who publicly declared “Victory is sure” for one party and branded its opponents “evil” cannot credibly preside over future polls, least of all the critical 2027 general elections.

Nigerians have seen this movie before. When the referee is perceived to have picked a side, every decision — from result transmission to petition handling — becomes suspect. The outcome of any election conducted under this cloud will be “highly disputed,” as the query correctly notes. Litigation will multiply, public trust will collapse further, and the legitimacy of democratic governance will hang by a thread.

Resignation is not punishment; it is the only credible remedy. It would:

- Restore a measure of public confidence in INEC’s impartiality.

- Allow the President to appoint a chairman whose neutrality is beyond reasonable doubt.

- Signal that Nigeria’s electoral body places institutional integrity above personal defence.

Prof. Amupitan is a distinguished legal scholar and Senior Advocate. His legacy should not be defined by a partisan controversy he can still exit with dignity. Continuing in office while forensic questions linger and public trust erodes is untenable.

The time for denial is over. The time for leadership by example has arrived.

Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, must resign.

Nigeria’s democracy demands nothing less.

Ik Ogbonna, PhD is a University Lecturer, Journalist and PR Practitioner.