National Council of State approves Amupitan as new INEC Chairman

Nigeria’s Council of State,Thursday, approved President Bola Tinubu’s choice of Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The emergency meeting of the Council was called by President Tinubu to approve among others a new chairman for INEC,

Prof. Amupitan, with the clearance of the Senate, is now expected to officially succeed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who had, last Tuesday, in Abuja, formally handed over to Mrs. May Agbamuche as the Acting National Chairman of INEC, being the oldest serving National Commissioner in the electoral body.

Prof. Yakubu announced, had last Tuesday at the meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners at the INEC headquarters in Abuja his decision to step aside from office.

Yakubu has already completed his two-term tenure of 10 years in office.

Meanwhile, in a statement released, Thursday, the Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, confirmed that the National Council of State has approved the appointment of Kogi State-born Professor Amupitan, as the new Chairman of INEC.

Onanuga stated that President Tinubu presented Amupitan’s name to the council to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Professor Yakubu, who served from 2015 to October 2025.

Tinubu described Amupitan, a native of Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, as a non-partisan professional and the first person from the North-Central zone to be nominated for the post.

Kogi State Governor Ahmed Ododo hailed him as “a man of integrity and proven competence.”

Amupitan, 58, is a Professor of Law and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria since 2014, he is renowned for his expertise in Company Law, Corporate Governance and Evidence Law.

He has held several top academic and administrative roles, including Dean of the Faculty of Law and Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors at UNIJOS.

Outside the university, he is the Pro-Chancellor of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Osun State, and a board member of several institutions.

President Tinubu is now expected to forward his nomination to the Senate for confirmation in line with constitutional requirements.

Yakubu was first appointed INEC chairman by former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari six months after he assumed the office as the President.

He completed his first term in office as the electoral body’s chairman in 2020, and was reappointed for a second term by Buhari.

Yakubu’s reappointment by Buhari made him the first person to serve as INEC chairman for two terms.

He took over from Professor Attahiru Jega, with INEC conducting many elections, including the 2019 and 2023 general elections.