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I’ll Make INEC Truly Independent – New INEC Chairman, Amupitan Vows

Professor Joash Amupitan, the nominee for the chairmanship of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made a promise to Nigerians.
He vowed to strengthen the independence of the nation’s electoral body if confirmed for the position.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on the Whole on Thursday afternoon for his screening, Amupitan said that his top priority would be to explore constitutional provisions to ensure that the Commission operates as a truly independent institution, free from political or financial interference.
Addressing questions from lawmakers, the professor noted that over the years, the independence of INEC has been undermined by two key factors — financial limitations and a lack of full understanding of the law by both the Commission and other arms of government.
According to him, these challenges have often made the Commission appear dependent on the executive arm, especially in budgetary matters and operational decisions.
He stressed that as the electoral umpire, INEC must have the authority to make decisions without external pressure to maintain credibility in the electoral process.
Amupitan assured the Senators that, if confirmed, he would make full use of the constitutional powers granted to the Commission to safeguard its autonomy and strengthen its institutional capacity.
He further explained that a truly independent electoral body is essential for building public confidence in Nigeria’s elections, adding that he would prioritise transparency, accountability, and technological innovation in INEC’s operations.
While responding to additional questions, Amupitan also expressed his commitment to improving voter education, enhancing electoral logistics, and ensuring that future elections are free, fair, and reflective of the people’s will.
He concluded by saying that Nigeria’s democracy can only thrive when the electoral umpire operates independently and within the full spirit of the Constitution.
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Tinubu Nominates New INEC Chairman

President Bola Tinubu has nominated Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) from the North-Central as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Amupitan’s nomination has now been confirmed by the National Council of State.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented Amupitan as the nominee to fill the vacant position, following Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s exit.
Recall that Yakubu served from 2015 till October 2025.
This was disclosed in a statement on Thursday by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, President Tinubu told the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi, North-Central state, nominated to occupy the position and is apolitical.
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.

Amupitan, 58, from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu LGA  in Kogi State, is a  Professor of Law at the University of Jos, Plateau. He is also an alumnus of the university.
He specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance and Privatisation Law. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in September 2014.
Amupitan was born on April 25, 1967.
After completing primary and secondary education, he attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, from 1982 to 1984, and the University of Jos from 1984 to 1987. He was called to the bar in 1988.
He earned an LLM at UNIJOS in 1993 and a PhD in 2007, amid an academic career that began in 1989, following his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation in Bauchi from 1988 to 1989.
Currently, he serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, a position he holds in conjunction with being the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.
Among the academic positions he has held at UNIJOS are: Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012-2014); Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008-2014); and Head of Public Law (2006-2008).
Outside of academics, Amupitan serves as a board member of Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council, and a member of the Council of Legal Education (2008-2014), among other roles. He was a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja(1996-2004).
Amupitan is the author of many books on law, such as 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).
He is married and has four children.
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Yakubu Hands Over to Agbamuche as INEC Acting Chair

Professor Mahmood Yakubu has handed over to the oldest serving National Commissioner in the electoral body.
Yakubu handed over to May Agbamuche as the Acting National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Agbamuche is the oldest serving National Commissioner in the electoral body.
Professor Mahmood announced this on Tuesday at the ongoing meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
He solicited the support of the commissioners and directors of the commission for Agbamuche, until the appointment of a substantive chairman.
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Atiku Summons INEC Chairman, Secretary To Testify In Tribunal

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has summoned Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

Atiku, through his lawyer, says he has subpoenaed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to testify in court.

The lead counsel to Atiku, Chris Uche, who addressed the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, said he had also summoned the Secretary to the commission, Mrs Rose Omoa Oriaran-Anthony.

Atiku is challenging INEC’s declaration of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.

The petition resumed hearing with the lead counsel to Atiku informing the court that he was calling the first witness of the day, making him that the 19th witness to testify in the matter.

The 19th witness is a star witness, was one Mr Alex Adumter, a lawyer and politician as well as the National Coordinator of the PDP Situation Room.

However, members of counsel to the first respondent (INEC), the second and third respondents (Bola Tinubu/Shettima) and the fourth respondent (APC) raised objections to the admissibility of the witness’ statement on oath.

However, counsel to the petitioner (Atiku) urged the court to discountenance the objection in its entirety.

The court admitted the statement on oath, while it reserved ruling on the matter till judgement day.

The star witness deposed to three statements on oath, which the court adopted.

The witness also tendered, along with his statement on oath, three videos of the INEC Chairman, INEC commissioner Festus Okoye, and the European Union (EU) election observer mission, as evidence.

Counsel to Atiku applied to the court for the video evidence to be played in the open court, an application the court granted.

One of the videos contained a news conference of the INEC Chairman in which he promised real-time transmission of election results and the non-use of incidence forms as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would be the only device to be used.

Also tendered were copies of screenshots of the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) where the results were posted.

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Rappers, Falz And Vector Ridicule INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu In New Song

Following the conclusion of the 2023 general elections, top rappers, Falz and Vector have taken a swipe at Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, in a new song titled “Mr Yakubu”.

The rappers in the new song insinuated that the chairman of the electoral commission exhibited fraudulent behaviours during the just concluded general election.

They also captured some of the excuses INEC gave on why February 25 presidential results were not uploaded in real time on its portal in lyrics of the song.

Some irregularities on the part of security operatives during the election were also acted out in the music video. They also recalled how youths were shot during the #EndSARS protest of 2020.

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2023 Elections

Presidential Election: INEC Chairman Threatens Lawsuit After PDP’s Rigging Allegation

Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has threatened to go to court.

He said the allegation that he rigged the presidential election could lead to a lawsuit.

The electoral chief issued a reply to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, after the leadership, on Friday, asked him to resign.

The opposition charged the police and the Department of State Services, DSS, to investigate the chairman over alleged manipulation of election results.

A statement by Yakubu’s Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi said the call was misplaced and challenged the PDP to prove its claims in court.

The spokesperson wondered why the party did not provide evidence to back up “the spurious allegations”.

Oyekanmi said the PDP also did not give evidence of how Yakubu sabotaged the uploading and transmission of results from polling units.

The aide maintained that the INEC “does not rig elections”, stressing that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, “has ensured the integrity of the electoral process”.

Oyekanmi remined the PDP that it rejected the outcome of the February 25 poll and should toe the path of honour by pursuing its case until judgment is delivered.

“Canvassing the same issues the party intends to plead in court on the pages of newspapers and calling for the resignation of the INEC Chairman is like putting the cart before the horse.

“The PDP is hereby reminded that making libelous allegations against the person of the INEC Chairman is actionable,” he added.

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2023 Elections

INEC declares Bola Tinubu winner of 2023 presidential election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.

INEC chairman Yakubu Mahmood declared Tinubu the winner of the election and president-elect Wednesday morning at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

A total of 18 presidential candidates contested the election held across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on Saturday.

The election was postponed till Sunday in some polling units in different states due to violence, logistical problems, theft of BVAS and other issues.

After collation at state INEC collation centres, the election results were presented by state collation officers for the presidential election (SCOPs) before the INEC chairman at the National Collation Centre.

Mahmood announced that Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the election with the majority of votes cast in 36 states of Nigeria and the FCT.

The APC candidate polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat fellow contenders – Atiku Abubakar of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 6,984,520 votes, Labour Party’s Peter Obi had 6,101,533 votes to come third and candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) Rabiu Kwankwaso with 1,496,687 votes.

Of the 36 states and FCT, Tinubu, Obi, and Atiku won 12 states each while Kwankwaso won only Kano State.

The 12 states won by Tinubu are Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Benue, Rivers, Borno, Zamfara, Jigawa, Ondo, Kogi and Niger State.

Atiku of the PDP won Taraba, Osun, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Kaduna, Sokoto, Yobe, Bayelsa, Kebbi, Bauchi, Gombe and Katsina.

Obi won the following states; Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Delta, Edo, FCT, Plateau, Nasarawa, Lagos and Cross River.

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2023 Elections

Nigeria Elections 2023: INEC To Conduct Elections Today In 141 Polling Units In Yenagoa, Bayelsa

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that it will conduct elections in 141 polling units within Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Sunday, February 26.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this while briefing journalists at the collation centre in Abuja today that elections were disrupted in Wards 4, 6, 8, and 14, involving 141 polling units.

The INEC Chairman added that the electoral body has decided that the election will be held on Sunday.

According to him, this agreement was reached after the Commission had a meeting with security agencies in the state.

“So we met with security agencies and we’ve decided that voting in these 141 polling units where the materials are actually intact, will take place tomorrow morning. Remember, we’re not only doing presidential election, but we are also doing Senatorial and Federal constituencies.

“So it’s good to recover and conduct the elections so that we can conclude the processes. The youth corps members who are serving as presiding officers and other commission staff, are agreeable that the elections should hold tomorrow morning,” the INEC boss asserted.

He added that thugs attacked different polling units and that at least eight BVAS machines were stolen in different parts of the country.

Professor Yakubu, however, stated that backup BVAS machines were provided to ensure that the election was not totally disrupted.

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2023 Elections

We‘ll Declare 2023 Election Result Speedily – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the results of February 25th presidential and National Assembly polls will be declared speedily.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who spoke at a media briefing in Abuja on Friday, February 24, also said that the process will not suffer any encumbrance due to the recent cash crunch triggered by the naira re-design policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He said;

“I just want to say that we will ensure that it (result declaration) will be done speedily. I can’t put a finger on the number of days or number of hours it will take, but it will be done speedily. We are aware of the anxiety and the need for us to conclude the process quickly, it will be concluded quickly.

“It is not all our operations that are paid for by cash. In fact, the bulk of our procurement for both goods and services is done electronically, but we need a small amount of money to pay for the unbanked who render critical services, particularly at the local level.

“We anticipated this challenge and interacted with the Central Bank, they promised us that the little amount we need to pay for services in cash, they will make the funds available to us and they have done so.

“And these funds have already been accessed by our state offices for elections which is why the movement of personnel and materials in the last couple of days has gone on unhindered. So, I must give credit for our relationship with the Central Bank in that regard. So, the process won’t suffer any encumbrance as a result.”

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2023 Elections

INEC Chairman Confirms Receiving Cash From CBN For 2023 Polls

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed it it received a  “substantial part” of the cash it requested of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid the naira scarcity in the country.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed it received a  “substantial part” of the cash it requested from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid the naira scarcity in the country.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, confirmed receipt of the funds on Thursday, February 23, during a press conference in Abuja on the commission’s activities before the presidential and National Assembly polls.

Yakubu said;

“The bulk of the small amount of cash that we have requested from the Central Bank of Nigeria is right now being released to the commission’s offices nationwide.

“In fact, a substantial part of it has already been received by our offices nationwide and this has greatly facilitated the movement of sensitive materials yesterday from the branches of the Central Bank to our local government areas.

“By tomorrow, we’ll batch them and then move them on Friday to the registration area centres. And then on Saturday early morning, they’ll be moved to the polling units for voting.”

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