INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan has denied serving on Tinubu’s 2023 election legal team.
NaijaOnPoint Nigeria reports that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has dismissed reports claiming he was part of the legal team that defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the 2023 Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) proceedings.
Amupitan made the clarification on Thursday during his Senate screening in Abuja, following widespread speculation about his alleged role in Tinubu’s legal defence.
“You also talked about whether I was part of the presidential election team. I have also read it. It is very simple to answer,” he said.
“The law reports on those cases are available, and even when I was coming here, I obtained certified true copies of the counsel that appeared. I never— I did not appear in the presidential election tribunal or at the Supreme Court.”
The 58-year-old law professor was responding to a question from Senator Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa West), who sought clarification on his alleged involvement.
Amupitan also refuted claims that he represented Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) or Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the tribunal.
“I was not part of it,” he told Senate President Godswill Akpabio, when asked if he worked with any opposition legal teams.
Following over two hours of questioning, the Senate confirmed Amupitan as INEC Chairman. Lawmakers grilled him on his plans to restore public trust in the electoral process and pursue meaningful institutional reforms.
Amupitan was nominated by President Tinubu and received the endorsement of the National Council of State last week. He succeeds Professor Mahmood Yakubu, becoming the sixth substantive INEC Chairman in Nigeria’s history.
Recall that ihe 2023 presidential election saw Atiku Abubakar (PDP) and Peter Obi (LP) challenge Tinubu’s victory before the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC), citing alleged irregularities, fraud, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
In September 2023, the tribunal dismissed all petitions and upheld Tinubu’s election.
Subsequently, in October 2023, the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling, rejecting appeals filed by both opposition candidates.
A seven-member panel of justices concluded that the allegations of electoral malpractice, certificate forgery, and constitutional violations were “without merit.”