ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Professor Joash Amupitan was sworn in Thursday as the new Chairman of Nigeria\u2019s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), pledging to restore public trust and strengthen the country\u2019s electoral system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ceremony took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where President Bola Tinubu administered the oath of office. Amupitan, dressed in a white agbada and gold cap, arrived at the State House in the morning and exchanged pleasantries with dignitaries and onlookers ahead of the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his remarks, President Tinubu urged the new INEC chairman to uphold the principles of fairness and transparency. \u201cThis is a sacred responsibility,\u201d Tinubu said. \u201cOur democracy depends on the credibility of our elections, and I trust that Professor Amupitan will lead with integrity and courage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The swearing-in follows Amupitan\u2019s confirmation by the Senate on Oct. 16 after a rigorous screening process. During his appearance before lawmakers, the 58-year-old law professor outlined plans to reform Nigeria\u2019s electoral framework, enhance institutional independence, and eliminate ambiguities in the Electoral Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe must conduct elections where even the loser will congratulate the winner and say, \u2018You won fairly and well,\u2019\u201d Amupitan told the Senate. \u201cWhen that happens, voters\u2019 confidence will naturally be restored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also pledged to tighten election timelines and improve transparency in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amupitan was nominated by President Tinubu and approved by the National Council of State. He succeeds Professor Mahmood Yakubu, whose tenure recently ended, becoming the sixth substantive head of the electoral body since its establishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing concerns about his alleged ties to Tinubu\u2019s legal team during the 2023 Presidential Election Petitions Court, Amupitan denied any involvement. \u201cI never appeared before the Presidential Election Tribunal or the Supreme Court for any of the parties,\u201d he said, emphasizing his neutrality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The audience at the ceremony included lawmakers, civil society leaders, and members of the diplomatic corps. Many applauded as Amupitan took the oath, with some expressing cautious optimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen many promises in the past,\u201d said Aisha Bello, a civil society observer. \u201cBut if he follows through on his words, this could be a turning point for Nigerian democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senator Ibrahim Danjuma (APC\u2013Kano North), who chaired the confirmation hearing, praised Amupitan\u2019s credentials. \u201cHe brings academic rigor and a clear vision to the role,\u201d Danjuma said. \u201cNow the real work begins\u2014restoring credibility to our elections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the ceremony, Amupitan is expected to assume office immediately and begin the transition process at INEC\u2019s headquarters in Abuja.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Professor Joash Amupitan was sworn in Thursday as the new Chairman of Nigeria\u2019s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), pledging to restore public trust and strengthen the country\u2019s electoral system. The ceremony took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where President Bola Tinubu administered the oath of office. Amupitan, dressed in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-naija-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-new-INEC-Chairman-Professor-Joash-Amupitan-SAN-arrives-at-the-Council-Chambers-ahead-of-his-swearing-in-by-President-Bola-Tinubu.jpeg?fit=1600%2C1562&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21913"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21915,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21913\/revisions\/21915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}