Joash Amupitan: Nigerians React as Council of State Approves new INEC chairman

• President Bola Tinubu has nominated Professor Joash Amupitan, from the University of Jos, for the position of the new INEC chairman
• The Tinubu nominee was subsequently approved by the Council of State, which met at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday, October 7
• However, some Nigerians have started reacting to the appointment of the professor by President Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu's nominee for the position of the new national chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, from the University of Jos, has been unanimously approved by the Council of State.

The council held its meeting at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday, October 9, where the president presented the nominee for the highest position in the electoral commission.

Nigerians' reactions to Amupitan's appointment

However, Nigerians have started expressing mixed reactions to the announcement, which was shared by the presidency. Below are some of their reactions:

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Bayo Olupogunda welcomed the professor:

"Welcome to the toughest job in the world."

Megamixer faults the announcement:

"On Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, becoming the next INEC Chair, Nigeria deserves an electoral process where competitors never pick the umpire. Framing the Council of State’s “unanimous approval” as decisive muddies the law and the optics. By design, the Council’s role is advisory; the appointment power resides with the President, and its effectiveness requires Senate confirmation regardless of the fact that the present Senate stands on Bola's mandate. Anything else overclaims the Council and underplays the constitutional safeguards voters expect.

"Here is the core issue. The President, a principal contestant in national elections, still selects the INEC chair, with Senate vetting and Council advice. That architecture invites a perceived conflict of interest. It is the democratic equivalent of a football team selecting its own referees and linemen. Even when the officials are competent, confidence erodes because the one-sided rules allow competitors to choose their match officials. Reform is overdue: open longlist, transparent criteria, public hearings, and a multi-stakeholder, cross-party panel to shortlist.

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"On substance, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, appears eminently qualified. The concern is not capability but rather procedure and trust. Civil society has requested that the presidency publish the selection process and criteria, precisely to avoid perceptions of partisan capture ahead of the 2027 elections. That request should be heeded in full.

"Even though the Constitution establishes INEC and empowers the President to appoint its chair subject to Senate confirmation, while the Council of State advises the President, presenting the Council's approval as if it were the appointment, risks public misunderstanding. With Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s tenure having ended, transparency will now determine whether the next cycle begins with confidence, controversy, or credibility."

Nche Bikwe urged the new INEC chairman to be fair:

"He should be patriotic enough to perform the duty of Chairman of INEC without fear or favour, having in mind that the quality of our elections determines the kind of leadership we get, and in turn the progress we make as a nation."

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Idan Gangan said the appointment is unfair to the people of the Southwest:

"This is not fair to us in the SW, we’ve never produced a single INEC chairman in the history of this country and not a single agitation from Ibos that seems to love one-Nigeria more than anyone else. Where is our federal character? Another northerner as INEC chairman isn’t fair."

See the announcement and read more comments here:

Source: Legit.ng