By Yahaya Umar, Abuja
Criticisms have continued to trail the appointment of Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, with calls on Nigerians and the Senate to reject him.
It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu, last week, appointed Amupitan as Chairman of the nation’s electoral body following the expiration of the tenure of the erstwhile chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who conducted the 2019 and 2023 general elections.
Since Amupitan’s appointment last Thursday, a section of the political class and Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, have condemned his appointment.
In a press statement issued over the weekend by the
Coalition Of Civil Society Organisations In Nigeria, COCSON, a non-partisan alliance of over 200 civil society groups, human rights defenders, legal practitioners, and democratic watchdogs committed to the sanctity of Nigeria’s electoral processes, has called on the stakeholders, the public, and the Senate, to reject the appointee, saying his appointment portends danger to the nation’s democracy.
In the statement of rejection signed by the duo of its National President, Comrade Ibrahim Suleiman, and
National Secretary, Mrs, Grace Okonkwo, the group vehemently demanded the outright rejection and non-clearance of Amupitan as new INEC chairman.
The group noted that his nomination is not merely a misstep, but a brazen assault on the foundational pillars of our democracy, and a deliberate sabotage of public trust, and a grotesque mockery of the constitutional imperative for an impartial electoral umpire as enshrined in Section 156(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
It noted that Amupitan’s deep-seated and well-documented affiliations with President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, render him utterly unfit, conflicted, and incapable of upholding the neutrality that INEC demands.
According to the group, “As lead counsel for President Tinubu and the APC in the contentious 2023 Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, where he vigorously defended electoral malfeasance, manipulated outcomes, and eligibility fabrications, Amupitan has irrevocably tied his professional fate to the very political machinery he would now be tasked to oversee”.
It added that”His role in shielding APC’s victories against irrefutable evidence of irregularities, voter suppression, and constitutional disqualifications is a scarlet stain that no amount of academic veneer can erase”.
The group, therefore, noted that to confirm such a partisan operative as INEC Chairman would be tantamount to handing the foxes the keys to the henhouse, a recipe for the wholesale rigging of the 2027 general elections and beyond.
“It would embolden the APC’s stranglehold on power, disenfranchise opposition voices, and plunge Nigeria into an abyss of authoritarianism from which recovery may prove impossible”, the group stated.
The group stated that it refused “to stand idly by as this administration peddles the illusion of “competence” to mask its craven pursuit of electoral hegemony”.
Accordingly, it stared that “The Nigerian people deserve better than a puppeteered INEC; they demand an electoral body free from the toxic tentacles of executive overreach and party loyalty”.
“Professor Amupitan’s cross-party legal alliances, including his long-standing counsel to APC proxies in Kogi State governorship disputes, only amplify the stench of bias. His elevation is an affront to every citizen who voted in 2023 under duress, every youth whose future hangs in the balance, and every democratic institution we have fought to preserve”.
The group added that it has been actively collating signatures from Nigerians across the country and diaspora who insist that Amupitan should not be appointed as INEC Chairman, stressing that its target is to gather at least 10 million signatures, “reflecting the overwhelming public rejection of this partisan nomination and the demand for a truly independent electoral process”.
Consequently, it stated that it is embarking on imminent mobilization for a nationwide Advocacy Campaign that will reach its crescendo with an ongoing presence at the National Assembly.
“Starting from Thursday, October 16, 2025, we are ready to continually occupy the premises of the National Assembly until the nomination is rejected. We shall not go home; we shall eat and sleep at the National Assembly gates if necessary, maintaining a peaceful but resolute vigil”.
“This will build up to our previously announced Advocacy March on October 20, 2025, commencing at 10:00 AM from the Unity Fountain, Abuja, and converging on the National Assembly Gates”.
The statement added that “This peaceful yet determined demonstration will unite a formidable coalition of stakeholders, including: Media Houses and Journalists to amplify the voices of the oppressed through live coverage and investigative exposés; Legal Luminaries and Bar Associations, and human rights lawyers, to invoke constitutional safeguards and prepare for judicial recourse if our demands are ignored; Civil Society Organizations, to mobilize grassroots networks across all 36 states; Human Rights Activists and Youth Leaders representing the indomitable spirit of a generation weary of stolen mandates”.
It further stated that the campaign is no hollow gesture, but a clarion call to action, a tidal wave of public outrage designed to besiege the corridors of power until justice prevails.
Itv stressed that it would not relent until Professor Amupitan’s nomination is rescinded, and a truly independent, non-partisan candidate – vetted through transparent, multi-stakeholder consultations – is forwarded for consideration.
“The eyes of the world, from the African Union to the international donor community, will be upon Nigeria. History will judge harshly those who enable this democratic heist”, it stressed.
It, therefore, implored the National Assembly, media, and all Nigerians “to rise above partisan seduction and reclaim the sacred oath to defend the Constitution and the sovereign will of the people”.
“Reject this nomination forthwith. Let this be the moment when Nigeria stands as a bulwark against executive tyranny”, it stated, adding that failure to act will not only betray the nation but invite the inexorable tide of civil unrest that simmers beneath our fragile peace.
“The time for equivocation is over. Nigeria’s democracy hangs by a thread – and the people hold the power to save it. Choose wisely. Choose posterity. Choose the people”, the statement quoted.
In the same vein, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria ,HURIWA, has raised concerns over Amupitan’s appointment as the new Chairman of the INEC, alleging that the move is politically motivated and aimed at influencing the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, HURIWA said the appointment of Prof. Amupitan, signalled what it described as an attempt by the President to consolidate control over the nation’s electoral process.
According to the group, intelligence available to it suggested that the new INEC chair. was selected not primarily for competence but for loyalty.
“From the intelligence at our disposal, this appointment is not about competence but control. The President, who is desperate to remain in power in 2027, has chosen an ally who will do his bidding. It is now left for Prof. Amupitan to prove this wrong”, the statement read.
