Barring any last-minute changes, President Bola Tinubu is expected to nominate Joash Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), as the next chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Amupitan is to succeed Mahmood Yakubu, whose 10-year tenure across two terms is coming to an end.
According to Sahara Reporters, Tinubu has convened a meeting of the Council of State for Thursday to formalise the appointment.
Amupitan, a professor of law, is said to be a kinsman and lawyer to Senator Dino Melaye.
Amupitan, from Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi state, is a legal scholar with more than 34 years of academic and professional experience.
He began his career as an assistant lecturer at the University of Jos in 1989 and rose to become a professor of law in 2008.
He has served as head of the department of public law, dean of the faculty of law, and chairman of the committee of deans and directors at the University of Jos, where he is currently Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration).
He was also a member of the governing councils of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the Council of Legal Education.
In December 2023, he was appointed Pro-chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU).
Amupitan holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B) from the University of Jos, obtained in 1987, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988.
He earned his master’s degree in 1993 and a Ph.D. in 2007, both from the same institution.
He was conferred the title of SAN in 2014. His areas of expertise include corporate governance, law of evidence, corporate law, and privatisation law.