President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has revealed the reasons for appointing Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
It was reported earlier that the President confirmed the appointment of Amupitan on Thursday, during a Security Council meeting attended virtually by former Head of State Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Tinubu told the council members that Amupitan, a professor of law from Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria, is the first person from the state to be nominated for the top electoral job.
President Tinubu told the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi, North-Central state, nominated to occupy the position and is apolitical,” a statement by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, quoted him as saying.
Onanuga also said the National Council of State approved Amupitan’s nomination.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented Amupitan as the nominee to fill the vacant position, following Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s exit.”
“Yakubu served from 2015 till October 2025. 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.
His published works include Corporate Governance: Models and Principles (2008), Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008), Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013), and Principles of Company Law (2013)
Beyond academia, Amupitan has served on several boards, including Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and the Council of Legal Education.
Amupitan was born on April 25, 1967. Read the full profile of the new INEC chairman here.
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